Renowned Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has accused a Lagos-based hospital of medical negligence following the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi, who passed away on Wednesday, January 7, 2026.
ARISE News reported on Saturday that Adichie’s media team confirmed she authored a statement outlining the circumstances surrounding her son’s death. According to her representatives, the statement was initially shared privately with family members and a small circle of close friends.
In the statement, Adichie said her son was taken to the hospital for an MRI scan and the insertion of a central line, procedures that required sedation. She alleged that after propofol was administered, her son was not adequately monitored, leading to a chain of complications including loss of responsiveness, seizures, and eventual cardiac arrest.
She stated that her son “would be alive today if not for an incident at the hospital on January 6th,” where he had been taken for the medical procedures.
Adichie explained that the family had travelled to Lagos for the Christmas holiday when her son developed what initially appeared to be a minor illness.
“We were in Lagos for Christmas. Nkanu had what we first thought was just a cold, but soon turned into a very serious infection, and he was admitted to Atlantis Hospital.
“He was to travel to the US the next day, January 7th, accompanied by travelling doctors. A team at Johns Hopkins was waiting to receive him in Baltimore. The Hopkins team had asked for a lumbar puncture test and an MRI,” she said.
According to Adichie, Atlantis Hospital referred them to the hospital “which was said to be the best place to have the procedures done.”
She said preparations were also made for the insertion of a central line ahead of her son’s planned transfer to the United States.
“The Nigerian team had also decided to put in a ‘central line’ (used to administer IV medications) in preparation for Nkanu’s flight. The morning of the 6th, we left Atlantis Hospital for (the recommended hospital), Nkanu carried in his father’s arms.
“We were told he would need to be sedated to prevent him from moving during the MRI and the ‘central line’ procedure. I was waiting just outside the theatre. I saw people, including Dr M, rushing into the theatre and immediately knew something had happened,” she stated.
Adichie said she was later informed that her son had been given an excessive dose of propofol by the anesthesiologist.
“A short time later, Dr M came out and told me Nkanu had been given too much propofol by the anesthesiologist, had become unresponsive and was quickly resuscitated,” she said.
She further stated that her son was placed on a ventilator, intubated, and admitted to the intensive care unit, where his condition worsened.
“But suddenly, Nkanu was on a ventilator; he was intubated and placed in the ICU. The next thing I heard was that he had seizures. Cardiac arrest. All these had never happened before. Some hours later, Nkanu was gone,” she said.
Adichie alleged that her son was not monitored after sedation and described the conduct of the anesthesiologist as criminally negligent.
“It turns out that Nkanu was never monitored after being given too much propofol. The anesthesiologist had just casually carried Nkanu on his shoulder to the theatre, so nobody knows when exactly Nkanu became unresponsive.
“How can you sedate a sick child and neglect to monitor him? Later, after the ‘central line’ procedure, the anesthesiologist casually switched off Nkanu’s oxygen and again decided to carry him on his shoulder to the ICU!
“The anesthesiologist was CRIMINALLY negligent. He was fatally casual and careless with the precious life of a child. No proper protocol was followed.”
She said the family had brought in “a child who was unwell but stable and scheduled to travel the next day” for what she described as “basic procedures,” but instead suffered a devastating loss.
“And suddenly, our beautiful little boy was gone forever. It is like living your worst nightmare. I will never survive the loss of my child,” she said.
Adichie also claimed that the family later became aware of previous incidents involving the same anesthesiologist.
“We have now heard about two previous cases of this same anesthesiologist overdosing children. “This must never happen to another child.”
Recall that the 21-month-old died after a brief illness. Following news of his death, prominent Nigerians, including President Bola Tinubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and former presidential candidate Peter Obi, sent condolences to Adichie and her family.
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