Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is dealing with the legal case over the death of her son while her bestselling novel Americanah moves closer to the screen through a new partnership with Canal+.
The Lagos State Attorney-General, Lawal Pedro (SAN), and the state’s Chief Coroner have asked the Lagos State High Court to dismiss a suit filed by Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited, the Victoria Island hospital where Adichie’s son, Nkanu Adichie-Esege, died on January 7, 2026.
The hospital wants the court to stop the ongoing coroner’s inquest and cancel decisions already taken during the proceedings. It argues that the child’s cremation before the inquest raises questions about the court’s jurisdiction.
In a preliminary objection dated June 5, 2026, the Attorney-General and the coroner rejected that argument. They described the application as “incompetent, premature and an abuse of court process.”
They also told the court that the Coroners System Law of Lagos State gives a coroner the power to investigate suspicious deaths even when “the body of the deceased is unavailable or has been destroyed.”
The respondents further argued that questions about the cremation and the absence of an autopsy report have not yet come before the Coroner’s Court, making the hospital’s application speculative.
Justice A.O. Opesanwo adjourned the case until September 28, 2026, when the court will hear all preliminary objections.
The legal proceedings follow an earlier finding by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, which reportedly established a prima facie case of medical negligence in connection with the child’s death. The coroner’s inquest will continue after the legal challenge is resolved.
Away from the courtroom, Adichie has received positive news from the entertainment industry.
French media company Canal+ has added Americanah to its African productions slate under its “Creating African Stories with Global Resonance” initiative.
The project revives a screen adaptation that has remained in development for more than a decade.
In 2014, Lupita Nyong’o joined the project as both star and producer for a planned film adaptation. The story later became a 10-episode HBO Max limited series, with Danai Gurira serving as writer and showrunner.
That version ended in 2020 after pandemic-related production delays created scheduling conflicts and Nyong’o left the project.
Canal+ has not announced whether the new adaptation will continue from the earlier version or begin with a completely new creative team. The company has also not revealed the cast, writers, director, production schedule or release date.
Americanah was published in 2013 and follows Ifemelu and Obinze as they move between Nigeria, the United States and the United Kingdom, exploring race, identity and migration. The novel won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and earned a place on The New York Times Book Review’s Ten Best Books of 2013.
As the court case moves toward its next hearing, Adichie continues to balance a deeply personal legal matter with renewed international interest in one of her most celebrated works.
