Court rejects Euracare’s bid to stop inquest into Chimamanda Adichie’s son’s death
The hospital had argued that the cremation of Nkanu’s remains made a post-mortem examination impossible and could leave the inquest relying on speculation. The post Court rejects Euracare’s bid to stop inquest into…
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, one of Nigeria's most prominent novelists, lost her son under circumstances that prompted calls for a coroner's inquest into the role of Euracare, a private multi-specialty hospital in Lagos, in his death. Coroner's inquests in Nigeria are formal judicial inquiries, presided over by a magistrate or designated judge, into the cause and circumstances of unexplained or contested deaths; they can compel testimony and documentary evidence from hospitals and other parties, and their findings can inform subsequent civil or criminal proceedings even though the inquest itself does not apportion criminal liability.
Euracare had gone to the Lagos State High Court seeking to block the inquest, arguing that since the deceased's remains had already been cremated, a post-mortem was no longer possible and any inquest findings would be based on speculation rather than forensic evidence. Both outlets agree the court rejected the hospital's application, allowing the inquest to proceed, though neither report details the judge's full reasoning, the next court date, or what evidence the coroner's panel will now rely on in the absence of a post-mortem.