Chimamanda Adichie alleges negligence over son’s death at Lagos hospital

Renowned author Chimamanda Adichie has disclosed circumstances surrounding the death of her one-year-old son, Nkanu, attributing the tragedy to alleged medical negligence at Euracare Hospital in Lagos.

Adichie, in a statement issued on Saturday, January 10, 2026, explained that her family had travelled to Lagos for Christmas when Nkanu fell ill with what initially appeared to be a common cold.

She said her son’s condition quickly worsened, leading to his admission at Atlantis Hospital.

Adichie said her family had arranged for Nkanu to travel to the United States on January 7, accompanied by doctors, where a medical team at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore was prepared to receive him.

The author said preparations for the journey required several medical procedures, including a lumbar puncture, an MRI, and the insertion of a central line for IV medication.

Adichie disclosed that Atlantis Hospital referred the family to Euracare Hospital, identified as one of the city’s leading facilities for such procedures.

Adichie stated: “The morning of the 6th, we left Atlantis hospital for Euracare, Nkanu carried in his father’s arms. We were told he would need to be sedated to prevent him from moving during the MRI and the ‘central line’ procedure.

Chimamanda loses one of her twin sons

“I was waiting just outside the theater. I saw people, including Dr M, rushing into the theater and immediately knew something had happened.

“A short time later, Dr M came out and told me Nkanu had been given too much propofol by the anesthesiologist, had become unresponsive and was quickly resuscitated. But suddenly Nkanu was on a ventilator, he was intubated and placed in the ICU. The next thing I heard was that he had seizures. Cardiac arrest. All these had never happened before. Some hours later, Nkanu was gone

“It turns out that Nkanu was never monitored after being given too much propofol. The anesthesiologist had just casually carried Nkanu on his shoulder to the theater, so nobody knows when exactly Nkanu became unresponsive.”

Adichie alleged that the anesthesiologist acted recklessly, even carrying Nkanu on his shoulder while switching off his oxygen before transferring him to the ICU.

She described the actions as “criminally negligent” and “fatally casual”, saying: “How can you sedate a sick child and neglect to monitor him? Later, after the ‘central line’ procedure, the anesthesiologist casually switched off Nkanu’s oxygen and again decided to carry him on his shoulder to the ICU!

“The anesthesiologist was criminally negligent. He was fatally casual and careless with the precious life of a child. No proper protocol was followed.

“We brought in a child who was unwell but stable and scheduled to travel the next day. We came to conduct basic procedures. And suddenly, our beautiful little boy was gone forever. It is like living your worst nightmare. I will never survive the loss of my child.

“We have now heard about two previous cases of this same anesthesiologist overdosing children. Why did Euracare allow him to keep working? This must never happen to another child.”

The Star