The Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has accused a Lagos hospital of negligence after the death of one of her 21-month-old twin boys. Nkanu Nnamdi died on 6 January after a brief illness. He was one of twin boys born to Adichie and Ivara Esege, a doctor, in 2024 by surrogacy.
In a WhatsApp chat to family and friends that was leaked on social media, Adichie wrote: “It is like living your worst nightmare.” Adichie’s team confirmed the authenticity of the messages. The TV channel Arise News reported that solicitors acting for the couple served Euracare hospital with a legal notice dated 10 January which asked for CCTV footage, electronic monitoring data and the toddler’s medical records within seven days. The notice alleged lapses during the child’s admission and lack of basic resuscitation equipment amounting to medical negligence.
Nkanu died a day before he was due for medical evacuation to Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore. He had been referred from another Lagos hospital to Euracare for diagnostic procedures including an echocardiogram and a brain MRI. In the WhatsApp chat, Adichie accused Euracare of negligence, saying a 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. Adichie said the anaesthesiologist had been “fatally casual and careless”.
In response to the WhatsApp leak, Euracare said it was inaccurate to suggest medical negligence was the cause of death and that its staff had “provided care in line with established clinical protocols and internationally accepted medical standards” to the “critically ill” toddler upon admission. The hospital has not yet replied to the legal notice. There has been an outpouring of condolence messages, including from Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. The Lagos state government ordered investigations into the matter.
