Chimamanda Adichie Serves Legal Notice to Euracare Hospital Over Son’s Death

Renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband, Dr. Ivara Esege, have served a formal legal notice to Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Lagos following the death of their 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi Adichie-Esege. The notice, dated January 10, 2026, and issued by the law firm of Professor Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, accuses the hospital and its medical staff of "criminal negligence" and professional misconduct. The child died in the early hours of January 7, 2024, just one day before he was scheduled for an emergency medical evacuation to Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States.

According to the legal filing and a private statement shared by Adichie, the child was referred to Euracare from Atlantis Pediatric Hospital for an MRI scan and the insertion of a central line. Adichie alleges that the attending anesthesiologist administered an overdose of propofol and failed to monitor the child thereafter. She stated that the anesthesiologist "casually carried Nkanu on his shoulder to the theatre" without monitoring equipment or supplemental oxygen, during which time the child became unresponsive, suffered seizures, and ultimately experienced a fatal cardiac arrest. The legal notice further alleges that the hospital lacked basic resuscitation equipment, such as an ambu bag, during critical transfers between clinical areas.

In response, Euracare Hospital issued a statement on January 10 expressing condolences but denying the allegations of negligence. The hospital management argued that the child was already "critically ill" upon arrival and had been treated at two other facilities prior to referral. They maintained that all care provided followed "internationally accepted medical standards" and announced an internal investigation. However, this was met with a sharp rebuttal from Dr. Anthea Nwandu, the deceased's aunt and a board-certified physician, who labeled the hospital's claims as "significant falsehoods," clarifying that the child had only been at one previous hospital and was stable before the procedures at Euracare.

The Lagos State Government has since intervened, with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu directing the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) to conduct an independent probe. Reports indicate that the hospital has suspended the anesthesiologist involved while investigations by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) continue. Adichie’s legal team has demanded all certified medical records and CCTV footage within seven days, warning that any destruction of evidence will be treated as an obstruction of justice.

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