Renowned Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Renowned Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has released a deeply emotional statement detailing the medical events that led to the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu, during a hospital procedure in Lagos.
Adichie’s media team confirmed that she personally authored the statement, explaining that it was initially shared privately with close family members and friends before becoming public.
In the statement, Adichie directly blamed what she described as a fatal medical error and gross negligence at Euracare Hospital, Lagos, where her son was referred for medical procedures.
> “My son would be alive today if not for an incident at Euracare Hospital on January 6th.”
According to her account, the family had travelled to Lagos for the Christmas holidays when Nkanu developed what appeared to be a mild cold, which later escalated into a severe infection. He was admitted to Atlantis Hospital, where plans were already underway to fly him to the United States for advanced care.
> “We were in Lagos for Christmas. Nkanu had what we first thought was just a cold, but soon turned into a very serious infection and he was admitted to Atlantis hospital.”
She explained that her son was scheduled to travel to the U.S. on January 7, accompanied by a team of travelling doctors, with specialists at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore prepared to receive him.
> “He was to travel to the US the next day, January 7th, accompanied by Travelling Doctors. A team at Johns Hopkins was waiting to receive him in Baltimore.”
Before the journey, medical teams requested additional procedures, including an MRI, a lumbar puncture, and the insertion of a central line to administer intravenous medication. Atlantis Hospital referred the family to Euracare Hospital for these procedures, which they were told was best equipped to handle them.
On the morning of January 6, the family arrived at Euracare, where they were informed that Nkanu would need to be sedated to prevent movement during the procedures.
> “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.”
Adichie recounted waiting outside the theatre when she noticed unusual activity that immediately raised alarm.
> “I was waiting just outside the theater. I saw people, including Dr M, rushing into the theater and immediately knew something had happened.”
She said she was later informed that her son had been given an excessive dose of propofol by the anesthesiologist.
> “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.”
However, she described how her son’s condition rapidly deteriorated, leading to ventilation, seizures, cardiac arrest, and ultimately, death.
> “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.”
Adichie alleged that her son was not properly monitored after the sedative was administered, a failure she described as inexcusable.
> “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.”
She further claimed that after the central line procedure, her son’s oxygen was switched off and he was again carried casually to the ICU.
> “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!”
In her strongest words, Adichie accused the anesthesiologist of criminal negligence.
> “The anesthesiologist was CRIMINALLY negligent. He was fatally casual and careless with the precious life of a child. No proper protocol was followed.”
She emphasized that her son was stable and preparing for international transfer before the procedures.
> “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.”
Describing the depth of her grief, Adichie wrote:
> “It is like living your worst nightmare. I will never survive the loss of my child.”
She concluded by raising serious concerns about patient safety, alleging that there were previous similar cases involving the same anesthesiologist.
> “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 statement has since sparked widespread public reaction, with renewed calls for accountability, stricter medical oversight, and patient safety reforms within Nigeria’s healthcare system.
