Renowned Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has alleged medical negligence in the circumstances surrounding the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi, who died on Wednesday, January 7, 2026.
Arise News reported on Saturday that Adichie’s media team confirmed she authored a detailed statement on the incident. The statement, according to her representatives, was initially shared privately with family members and close friends.
In the account, Adichie said her son “would be alive today if not for an incident” at Euracare Hospital on January 6, where he was taken for an MRI scan and the insertion of a central line.
Adichie explained that the family had travelled to Lagos for Christmas when her son fell ill.
“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 said.
She added that arrangements had already been made for the child to be flown to the United States the next day, January 7, with travelling doctors, noting that a team at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore was on standby to receive him.
According to her, the US medical team requested a lumbar puncture test and an MRI scan, which led to a referral to Euracare Hospital, “which was said to be the best place to have the procedures done.”
Adichie said Nkanu was sedated with propofol to prevent movement during the MRI and central line procedure, while she waited outside the theatre.
“I saw people, including Dr M, rushing into the theatre and immediately knew something had happened,” she said.
She recounted that she was later informed that her son had been administered an excessive dose of propofol.
“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,” Adichie stated.
She said the toddler was subsequently intubated, placed on a ventilator, and admitted to the intensive care unit, where he later developed seizures and suffered cardiac arrest.
“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,” she said.
In the statement, Adichie accused the anesthesiologist involved of gross negligence, alleging that her son was not properly monitored after sedation.
“It turns out that Nkanu was never monitored after being given too much propofol… How can you sedate a sick child and neglect to monitor him?” she asked.
She further alleged that the anesthesiologist casually switched off the child’s oxygen after the procedure and carried 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,” Adichie said.
The author also claimed that the family later became aware of previous similar incidents 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?” she asked.
Adichie said her family brought in “a child who was unwell but stable” for what she described as basic medical procedures, only to lose him unexpectedly.
“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,” she said, adding, “This must never happen to another child.”