Wale Igbintade
The Coroner’s Court sitting at the Yaba Magistrate Court in Lagos has fixed April 14, 2026, for the commencement of a formal inquest into the death of 21-month-old Master Nkanu Nnamdi Esege, son of renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband, Dr. Ivara Esege.
Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji adjourned the matter yesterday, after a preliminary session convened to determine the framework for the inquiry.
The toddler died on January 7, 2026, following medical procedures at Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Lagos.
He had earlier been admitted to Atlantis Hospital for what was described as a worsening but initially mild illness.
While arrangements were reportedly being made to transfer him to Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States for specialist care, Atlantis referred him to Euracare for pre-flight diagnostic procedures.
According to documents before the court, the procedures included an echocardiogram, brain MRI, lumbar puncture, insertion of a peripherally inserted central catheter, and intravenous sedation with propofol.
The child, however, died shortly after the interventions.
At the hearing, Prof. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) announced his appearance for the family.
Adebola Rahman represented the Attorney-General of Lagos State, while Prof. Cheluchi Onyemelukwe of Health Ethics and Law Consulting appeared for Atlantis Hospital.
Euracare was also represented.
Magistrate Adetunji disclosed that the court received an application from the Chief Coroner of Lagos State following a request by the Attorney-General that an inquest be conducted into the circumstances of the child’s death.
She noted that the Lagos State Government considered the matter one of public concern.
“The Lagos State Government is also bereaved; that is why the Attorney-General has taken this step. It is not just the family of the deceased that is affected,” she said.
The magistrate directed all parties to file their witness statements before the next adjourned date and emphasised that the primary objective of the inquest would be to determine the cause and circumstances of the death.
She added that an autopsy is typically the starting point in coroner proceedings.
“For every inquest, the starting point is that there must be an autopsy done to give us a professional report,” she said.
Urging the court to proceed with the substantive hearing, Pinheiro stated that the parents maintain their son’s death was unnatural and occurred during medical intervention.
He said the family would present evidence alleging gross medical negligence, including possible overdose, wrongful prescription, improper administration of propofol, and wrongful diagnosis.
According to him, the family plans to call five independent medical experts, including an anesthesiologist, a paediatric anaesthesia specialist, a radiologist, an intensivist, and the child’s father, who is also a medical doctor.
Pinheiro also urged the court to direct Euracare to preserve all physical and electronic evidence from January 6, 2026, including CCTV footage, electronic monitoring data, pharmacy records, emergency equipment logs, internal communications, and morbidity and mortality review documents.
The magistrate ruled that Euracare would open its case at the substantive hearing, followed by the family and then Atlantis Hospital.
In a legal notice dated January 10, 2026, issued by Pinheiro’s law firm, Adichie and her husband had accused Euracare, its anesthesiologist, and other attending medical personnel of breaching the duty of care owed to their son.
The notice stated that the child developed sudden and severe complications while being transported to the cardiac catheterisation laboratory after undergoing an MRI.
The parents raised concerns over what they described as cumulative dosing of propofol in a critically ill child, inadequate airway protection during deep sedation, failure to ensure continuous physiological monitoring, transfer without supplemental oxygen, insufficient accompanying medical personnel, alleged unavailability of basic resuscitation equipment, delayed recognition and management of respiratory or cardiovascular distress, and non-compliance with established paediatric anaesthesia and patient-transfer safety standards.
The court is expected to reconvene on April 14, 2026, to begin the substantive hearing into the circumstances surrounding the toddler’s death.
