The Coroner’s Court, sitting in the Igbosere Magistrate Court on Lagos Island, has adjourned further proceedings in the inquest into the death of 21-month-old Master Nkanu Adichie-Esege, son of renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Dr. Ivara Esege.
Coroner Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji set the date on Wednesday after Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, counsel for Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital, informed that the Lagos State High Court had ordered a stay of proceedings pending the outcome of the hospital’s judicial review application.
The inquest was scheduled to commence hearing before the development.
Osipitan stated that Euracare had moved the High Court to challenge the Coroner’s Court’s jurisdiction, claiming that the deceased child’s body was burned before the inquest process began.
According to him, the judicial review is intended to establish whether the Coroner’s Court can properly conduct an inquest in the absence of the deceased’s remains.
“The High Court granted leave for judicial review and also ordered that pending the determination of the substantive suit, proceedings before this Coroner’s Court should be stayed,” Osipitan said.
He said that the High Court’s order adjourned the case until June 8, 2026, and encouraged the Coroner’s Court to adjourn any proceedings in accordance with the decision.
Adebola Araba, counsel for the Lagos State Attorney General’s Office, informed the court that he had yet to receive a copy of the enrolled order, despite Osipitan’s assertion that the Attorney General’s office had already been served.
Meanwhile, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), counsel for the deceased’s family, revealed that four sworn witness statements had been filed and served on all parties.
The witnesses include the child’s father, Dr. Ivara Esege; medical experts Dr. Chinwe Ego of Arizona and another doctor from Minnesota in the United States; and Prof. Adekola of Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
While respecting the High Court’s order, Pinheiro demanded that the inquest proceed.
“He who has nothing to hide should not fear an open inquest. An innocent man has nothing to fear. It is darkness that fears the light,” he told the court.
Pinheiro also encouraged the coroner to adjourn the case until after the court vacation, rather than indefinitely.
Efe Ize-Iyamu, counsel for Atlantis Pediatric Hospital, acknowledged that his client had received both the High Court’s order and the original motion.
He agreed with Pinheiro’s stance, observing that, although being bound by the stay order, the parties had already filed their reply.
In response, Osipitan argued that the fundamental question before the High Court was whether the Coroner’s Court could exercise jurisdiction following the reported cremation of the child’s body.
Pinheiro, on the other hand, maintained that inquests could still be held in the absence of a body and that the family would demonstrate this during the hearings.
After hearing all parties, Magistrate Adetunji adjourned the case until October 8, 2026.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Is Anthony Odiong still a priest after life in prison sentence over rape?")