The Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has raised severe allegations against Lagos hospital after the death of one of her 21-month-old twin boys. She said hospital negligence resulted in her toddler's death.
Nkanu Nnamdi, one of the twin sons born via surrogacy to author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Dr Ivara Esege in 2024, tragically passed away following a severe infection. After falling ill during a family Christmas trip to Lagos, Nkanu was admitted to a local hospital on January 6 and later transferred to Euracare for a sedated MRI.
Nkanu died a day before he was due for medical evacuation to the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Messages sent by Adichie to family and friends revealed that proper protocol was not followed during the treatment of her son.
Allegations were raised against Lagos' Euracare Multi -Specialist Hospital. Adichie said that the doctor had told her that the resident anaesthesiologist had administered an overdose of propofol, a sedative. Despite resuscitation and being put on a ventilator, Nkanu suffered a cardiac arrest that led to his death.
In a message, Adichie said that the anaesthesiologist had been “fatally casual and careless”. "We brought in a child who was unwell but stable and scheduled to travel the next day," read Adichie's message. "It's like living your worst nightmare," she added.
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A legal notice dated January 10 asked for the CCTV footage, electronic monitoring data and the toddler's medical records within seven days.
However, the hospital refuted the allegations and said that it was not due to medical negligence.
Meanwhile, the office of Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos, announced that the state's Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency would conduct an independent investigation into the incident. "A thorough, independent, and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, with a view to unravelling the immediate and remote causes of the death," Sanwo-Olu said.
Adichie’s first novel, Purple Hibiscus, was longlisted for the Booker prize in 2004, a year after its publication.
