Acclaimed novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has broken her silence on the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu, accusing a Lagos hospital of medical negligence and insisting the child would still be alive but for what she described as a grave failure of care.
In a detailed account, Adichie said her son died following a medical procedure at Euracare Hospital in Lagos on January 6. She explained that her initial remarks about the tragedy were shared privately with close family and friends before she decided to speak publicly.
According to Adichie, the family was in Lagos for the Christmas holidays when Nkanu developed symptoms that appeared to be a mild cold. His condition, however, worsened rapidly and progressed into a serious infection. He was admitted to Atlantis Hospital, where doctors planned to fly him to the United States the next day with travelling medical staff. A team at Johns Hopkins Hospital was already prepared to receive him for advanced care.
As part of the preparations for the medical evacuation, Nkanu was scheduled to undergo several procedures, including an MRI scan, a lumbar puncture and the insertion of a central line. Atlantis Hospital referred the family to Euracare Hospital to carry out these tests.
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Adichie said that on the morning of January 6, her son was taken to Euracare, where he was sedated with propofol to keep him still during the MRI and central line insertion. She recalled noticing sudden tension and unusual activity when medical staff rushed into the operating room shortly after the procedure began.
She was later told that Nkanu had been given an excessive dose of propofol, became unresponsive and had to be resuscitated. Soon after, he was intubated, placed on a ventilator and transferred to the intensive care unit. Adichie said her son then began to suffer seizures and cardiac arrest, conditions he had never experienced before.
Despite efforts to stabilize him, Nkanu died a few hours later.
Adichie accused the medical team of failing to properly monitor her son after sedation, describing the actions of the anesthesiologist involved as careless and criminally negligent. She further alleged that the same doctor had previously overdosed other children and questioned why he was still allowed to practice medicine.
She said her decision to speak out was driven by a desire for accountability and justice, not only for her son but to prevent similar tragedies from happening to other families. She called on relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident and ensure that standards of care in Nigerian hospitals are enforced without compromise.
The allegations have sparked widespread public reaction, renewing concerns about patient safety, medical regulation and accountability within Nigeria’s healthcare system.
