Author Chimamanda Adichie Accuses Lagos Hospital of Negligence in Son’s Déath

World-renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has issued a powerful and deeply personal statement, accusing a Lagos hospital of negligence that she believes led to the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu.

In a detailed account shared with family and friends, Adichie stated, “My son would be alive today if not for an incident at Euracare Hospital on January 6th.” The author revealed that Nkanu had developed a serious infection while the family was in Lagos for Christmas. After initial care at Atlantis Hospital, he was referred to Euracare for advanced procedures—a lumbar puncture and the insertion of a ‘central line’—in preparation for an emergency medical evacuation to Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States on January 7th.

According to Adichie’s statement, the tragedy unfolded during sedation for an MRI. She recalls seeing staff rush into the theater and being informed by a doctor that her son had been given “too much propofol” by the anesthesiologist, causing him to become unresponsive. Despite being resuscitated, Nkanu was placed on a ventilator in the ICU, suffered seizures and cardiac arrest, and passed away hours later.

This account directly contradicts an earlier family statement that cited a brief illness as the cause of death. Adichie’s latest testimony paints a harrowing picture of alleged medical error, stating that these catastrophic events “had never happened before” during her son’s treatment.