The Coroner sitting at the Yaba Magistrate Court has adjourned till April 14, 2026, the commencement of the inquiry into the death of 21-month-old Nkanu, son of renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Dr. Ivara Esege.
Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji fixed the date on Wednesday when the matter came up before the court.
When the case was called, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kemi Pinheiro, announced appearance for the family, while Adebola Rahman appeared on behalf of the Attorney-General of Lagos State.
Cheluchi Onyemelukwe of Health Ethics and Law Consulting represented Atlantis Hospital, while another counsel represented Euracare.
In a preliminary meeting with the parties, Magistrate Adetunji stated that the court received an application from the Chief Coroner of Lagos State following a request by the Attorney-General of the state that an inquest be conducted.
She said that the Lagos State Government also considers itself bereaved.
“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.
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The magistrate further explained that the preliminary session was to determine whether a formal inquest would proceed.
She directed all parties to file their witness statements before the next adjourned date and cautioned them to approach the proceedings carefully, stressing that the court’s goal was to determine the cause of the incident.
Autopsy
Magistrate Adetunji also said that an autopsy is generally the starting point in every inquest.
“For every inquest, the starting point is that there must be an autopsy done to give us a professional report,” she said.
Pinheiro urged the court to proceed with the hearing, stating that the parents maintain that the child’s death was unnatural and occurred during medical intervention.
He said the family would present evidence alleging gross medical negligence, possible overdose, wrongful prescription, improper administration of propofol, and wrongful diagnosis.
According to him, the family plans to call five independent medical professionals, including an anesthesiologist, a paediatric anaesthesia specialist, a radiologist, an intensivist, as well as 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 reviews.
He suggested that Euracare should open the hearing, followed by the family, and then Atlantis Hospital.
