Esege and Adichie Fight to Continue Son's Inquest

Dr Ivara Esege and his wife, award-winning author Chimamanda Adichie, have requested the Lagos State High Court to dismiss a suit filed by Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited, which seeks to halt the coroner’s inquest into the death of their son, Master Nkanu Adichie-Esege. Represented by their counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, they argued that the hospital's judicial review application was premature since the coroner had not made any substantive decisions.

Pinheiro compared the situation to a "Usain Bolt/Ben Johnson" suit, emphasizing that the coroner had not reached any determinations that could be quashed by the High Court. Eurapharma is challenging the inquest proceedings, claiming that the cremation of Nkanu's remains makes it impossible to conduct the inquest.

However, Pinheiro contended that the coroner's jurisdiction remains intact even without the body, citing relevant sections of the Lagos State Coroners’ System Law. The Lagos State Attorney-General, Lawal Pedro, SAN, also supported the dismissal of the suit, urging the court to allow the inquest to proceed.