Chimamanda Adichie has issued a legal notice to Euracare Hospital in Lagos, claiming that medical negligence and unprofessional conduct by staff there led to the death of her 21‑month‑old son, Nkanu Nnamdi.
Gatekeepers News reports that Nkanu, one of her twin boys, died on January 7, 2026, after complications during a series of urgent medical procedures.
The notice, dated January 10, asserts that the anaesthesiologist and other medical personnel at Euracare breached their duty of care. It states that the child had been referred from Atlantis Pediatric Hospital on January 6 for critical preparatory procedures ahead of an emergency medical evacuation.
These procedures included an echocardiogram, a brain MRI, placement of a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC), and a lumbar puncture, with sedation administered using propofol.
The filing says that a specialist team at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, United States, was ready to receive him, but during transport from the MRI suite to the cardiac catheterisation laboratory while still sedated, Nkanu suffered sudden and severe complications that led to his death.
Adichie’s lawyers allege several lapses in the child’s care, including improper propofol dosing, failure to protect his airway, lack of continuous monitoring, and movement between clinical areas without necessary oxygen, equipment, or sufficient medical staff present.
The hospital has been given seven days to provide certified copies of all relevant medical records, including admission notes, anaesthesia charts, drug and monitoring records, ICU documents, and the identities of staff involved.
Euracare is also ordered to preserve all evidence, such as CCTV, electronic monitoring data, pharmacy logs, and internal communications. The notice warns that failure to comply or destruction of evidence will lead to legal action and use of all available judicial remedies.
Meanwhile, Lagos government has launched an official investigation into the circumstances surrounding Nkanu’s death, as officials review the allegations of negligence and procedural failures.
