Renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has alleged medical negligence following the death of her young son, Nkanu, after a routine procedure at Euracare Hospital on January 6.
In a detailed account confirmed by her media team, Adichie described how what should have been standard medical procedures turned fatal due to what she called lapses in care.
The family had travelled to Lagos for the Christmas holidays when Nkanu initially developed cold-like symptoms, which later escalated into a severe infection. He was admitted to Atlantis Hospital, and arrangements were made for an emergency medical evacuation to the United States on January 7.
A medical team at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, had been prepared to receive Nkanu and requested an MRI scan and lumbar puncture, while Nigerian doctors planned to insert a central line before the flight. Atlantis Hospital subsequently referred the family to Euracare Hospital to carry out the procedures.
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Adichie explained that her son was sedated to prevent movement during the MRI and central line procedure. While waiting outside the operating theatre, she noticed hospital personnel, including a senior doctor, rushing in — a moment she said immediately indicated something had gone wrong.
She was informed that Nkanu had been given an excessive dose of propofol by the anesthesiologist, became unresponsive, and was later resuscitated, intubated, and admitted to the ICU. Seizures and cardiac arrest followed, conditions her son had never experienced before, and he died several hours later.
Adichie alleged that her son was not properly monitored after sedation, and that the anesthesiologist carried him without continuous observation, leaving it unclear when he became unresponsive. She also claimed that after the central line procedure, the anesthesiologist switched off Nkanu’s oxygen before transporting him to the ICU.
“How can you sedate a sick child and neglect to monitor him?” Adichie asked, calling the actions criminally negligent and a breach of standard medical protocol.
She further claimed that Euracare Hospital was aware of at least two previous cases involving alleged anesthetic overdoses by the same practitioner, raising questions about why he continued to practice.
“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,” she wrote.
Adichie concluded with a plea to prevent similar tragedies: “This must never happen to another child.”
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