The new year's hope has turned to profound grief for celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, her husband Dr. Ivara Esege, and their global community of supporters. This follows the devastating loss of their 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi, an event that has ignited a fierce national conversation about medical accountability in Nigeria.
A Private Tragedy Becomes a Public Outcry
Nkanu Nnamdi died on Wednesday, 7th January 2026, after what the family described as a brief illness. Initially, the family requested privacy. However, the narrative shifted dramatically when a private message from Adichie to friends was leaked to the public. In it, she made a startling allegation: "My son would be alive today if not for an incident at Euracare Hospital on January 6th."
According to Adichie's account, her son was in a stable condition at Atlantis Hospital and had been cleared for a medical evacuation to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, USA, scheduled for the following day. He was referred to Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital solely for a routine MRI scan and a "central line" procedure.
The situation turned catastrophic inside the hospital. Adichie alleges that an anesthesiologist administered an overdose of the sedative Propofol to her son and then failed to monitor him. "I saw people… rushing into the theater and immediately knew something had happened," she recounted. Her message condemned the anesthesiologist's actions as "criminally negligent" and "fatally casual and careless with the precious life of a child."
Systemic Failures and Damning Testimonies Surface
The boy's aunt, Dr. Anthea Esege Nwandu, a dual-board-certified physician, provided chilling clinical details in an interview with TVC News. She stated that standard practice demands continuous monitoring for a sedated child. Instead, she claims, the anesthesiologist disconnected the boy from his ventilator and carried him on his shoulders to the ICU without any monitoring equipment. "He arrived pulseless. That was the beginning of his death," Dr. Nwandu asserted.
Adichie's disclosure opened the floodgates for other harrowing stories about Euracare. Celebrity stylist Toyin Lawani shared a detailed account on Instagram about a near-fatal experience following spinal surgery at the hospital. She described a cascade of complications, including loss of speech and mobility, cardiac issues, and months of rehabilitation, allegedly due to poor post-operative care. She reportedly spent close to N100 million and still required emergency evacuation abroad for further treatment.
Social media platforms erupted with similar allegations:
- User @iammsbel commented on an Arise TV post: "Euracare again? I don’t want to talk about the damage they did to my uncle."
- X user @NosaAguebor warned the hospital to "keep quiet" based on personal experience.
- User @carameljay recounted how her mother died on Christmas Day after being turned away by two hospitals lacking defibrillators.
These testimonies point to a deep-seated, systemic crisis in Nigerian healthcare, where even premium facilities are accused of fundamental safety failures.
Euracare's Defence and Unanswered Questions
In its formal statement, Euracare Hospital framed the tragedy as a consequence of the child's "critical" pre-existing condition. However, this defence has been met with pointed rebuttals that highlight significant contradictions:
First, while Euracare claimed the child was referred after treatment at two centres, Adichie's account states he was at only one (Atlantis Hospital) and was stable for international travel.
Second, the hospital's claim of adhering to "international standards" was directly challenged by Dr. Nwandu. She emphasized that international protocol mandates continuous oxygen therapy for a sedated child on oxygen and the use of resuscitative equipment like an Ambu bag during transfer. She alleges neither was done, with the anesthesiologist opting to carry the child on his shoulder instead.
Third, Dr. Nwandu questioned the very possibility of a credible internal investigation, noting that without proper monitoring, there can be no accurate documentation of when the child stopped breathing or for how long he was pulseless.
Euracare's statement ultimately relied on a vague assertion of "inaccuracies" in public reports without specifying which details it disputes. This has done little to assuage public anger or the family's demand for justice. "It is time for the public and healthcare providers to demand accountability, transparency, and consequences for negligence in our healthcare system in Nigeria," Dr. Esege-Nwandu declared.
The tragedy is compounded by Adichie's closing remark in her leaked message: "We have now heard about two previous cases of this same anesthesiologist overdosing children. Why did Euracare allow him to keep working?" This question now hangs heavily over Nigeria's medical regulatory bodies, challenging them to act decisively to prevent another family from enduring such unspeakable loss.
