Renowned Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has accused a Lagos-based private hospital, Euracare Hospital, of medical negligence following the death of her young son, Nkanu Nnamdi, after a medical procedure on January 6.
In a detailed public statement released on Saturday, Adichie said her son’s death was the result of what she described as a grave error in the administration of anaesthesia, insisting that the child would still be alive if proper medical protocols had been followed.
According to her account, the family had travelled to Lagos for the Christmas holidays when Nkanu developed what initially appeared to be a mild cold but later progressed into a severe infection. He was admitted to Atlantis Hospital, where doctors began preparations for his transfer to the United States for specialist care.
Adichie said arrangements had already been made for Nkanu to travel to Baltimore on January 7, where specialists at Johns Hopkins Hospital were expecting him. As part of the medical preparations for the trip, doctors requested an MRI scan, a lumbar puncture, and the insertion of a central line.
Atlantis Hospital subsequently referred the family to Euracare Hospital for the procedures.
Adichie alleged that shortly after her son was sedated at Euracare for the MRI scan and central line insertion, she was informed that the anaesthesiologist had administered an excessive dose of propofol. She said Nkanu became unresponsive, was placed on a ventilator, transferred to the intensive care unit, later developed seizures, suffered cardiac arrest, and died hours later.
“A short time later, I was told that Nkanu had been given too much propofol, became unresponsive and had to be resuscitated,” she said. “Suddenly, he was intubated, placed on a ventilator, and moved to the ICU. Then came seizures. Then cardiac arrest. These things had never happened to him before. Some hours later, he was gone.”
The writer further accused the hospital of failing to properly monitor her son after sedation, describing the actions of the anaesthesiologist as “criminally negligent.”
According to her, Nkanu was not continuously monitored after sedation, and basic safety protocols were ignored. She alleged that the anaesthesiologist carried the child without monitoring equipment and later switched off his oxygen supply before moving him to the ICU.
“How do you sedate a sick child and fail to monitor him?” she asked. “No proper protocol was followed. The handling of my son’s care was fatally casual and careless.”
Adichie maintained that her son was stable before the procedure and had no prior history of seizures or cardiac arrest. She also raised concerns about institutional oversight at Euracare Hospital, alleging that the family later learned of previous cases in which the same anaesthesiologist had reportedly overdosed children.
Questioning why the doctor was still allowed to practise, she called for accountability to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“We brought in a child who was unwell but stable, simply to carry out basic procedures before traveling abroad the next day,” she said. “Instead, our beautiful little boy is gone forever. This must never happen to another child.”
As of the time of reporting, Euracare Hospital had not publicly responded to the allegations. The case has sparked renewed public debate over patient safety, regulatory oversight, and accountability in Nigeria’s private healthcare sector.