Award-winning
author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has accused the Euracare Multi-Specialist
Hospital in Lagos of orchestrating a cover-up in the death of her 21-month-old
son, Nkanu Nnamdi Adichie-Esege. This was contained in a letter she wrote to
the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the hospital.
Adichie
shared the letter on her Facebook page on Saturday, saying she decided to make
it public “because to keep silent about Euracare’s evil is to enable it.”
In the
letter, the author alleged that the Medical Director of Euracare, Dr Tosin
Majekodunmi, visited the family at their Ikoyi home on January 8, the day after
Nkanu’s death, and admitted that the anaesthesiologist, Dr Titus Ogundare, had
not followed the standard of care.
According
to the letter, Majekodunmi told Adichie on January 6 that Ogundare had given
Nkanu “too much propofol” — words she described as his exact statement to her
after she saw him rush into the catheterisation laboratory where the child was.
She
said the director accepted full responsibility and promised to dismiss Dr
Ogundare.
However,
she alleged that he subsequently stopped communicating with the family, stating
that Euracare management had taken over and effectively silenced him.
Adichie
further alleged that Euracare listed bacterial and fungal meningitis as the
cause of death on Nkanu’s death certificate, a claim she described as
inaccurate.
“When
Nkanu came to Euracare that morning for tests, he was conscious and talking and
interactive. He was sick but he was not critical,” she stated.
She
added that the certificate must be corrected to reflect what she believes was
the true cause: improper sedation, hypoxic brain injury, and cardiac arrest.
The
author also alleged that a senior figure in Euracare’s ownership sent a message
to a family relative warning that she should not pursue court action because
“bad things may be said about her since court cases are about winning and
anybody would do anything to win.”
Adichie
described the message as “manipulative and implicitly threatening.”
“They
can drag all they wish in the mud, but our quest for justice will continue,”
she said.
On the
ongoing inquest, Adichie noted that it was Euracare itself that first applied
for a coroner’s inquest in January, citing “rumours of negligence.”
She
said the hospital has since deployed delaying tactics and is now seeking to
stop the inquest entirely.
“If
Euracare cares about the truth, then why create delays and distractions and
now, finally, try to stop an inquest?” she asked.
The
Lagos State High Court, on May 26, granted Euracare leave to challenge the
jurisdiction of the Coroner’s Court, ordering a stay of the inquest proceedings
pending the determination of a judicial review application filed by the
hospital. The Coroner’s Court subsequently adjourned the matter to October 8,
2026.
The
Lagos State Attorney-General, Lawal Pedro (SAN), and the Chief Coroner of Lagos
State have since filed a preliminary objection urging the High Court to dismiss
Euracare’s application, describing it as incompetent, premature, and an abuse
of court process.
Nkanu,
the older of Adichie’s twin sons, died on January 7, 2026, following
complications during sedation procedures at Euracare.
The
Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria subsequently suspended Dr Ogundare and Dr
Majekodunmi, alongside the Chief Medical Officer of Atlantis Pediatric
Hospital, Dr Atinuke Uwajeh, pending disciplinary proceedings.
Euracare
had not responded to Adichie’s post as of the time of this report.
