Renowned Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie, has officially begun legal steps over the cause of her son’s death.
The development comes as Adichie issued a legal notice to Euracare, a private hospital in Lagos State, demanding accountability over her son’s death.
This was contained in a detailed legal notice dated January 10, 2026, and issued by the solicitors acting for Adichie and her partner, Dr. Ivara Esege. The notice alleged that the hospital, its anaesthesiologist, and other attending medical personnel breached the duty of care owed to their son, Master Nkanu Adichie-Esege, who died in the early hours of January 7, 2026.
According to the notice, the child, born on March 25, 2024, was referred to the hospital on January 6, 2026, from Atlantis Pediatric Hospital for diagnostic and preparatory procedures ahead of an imminent medical evacuation to the United States, where a specialist medical team was reportedly on standby.
The procedures included an echocardiogram, a brain MRI, a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC line), and a lumbar puncture. Intravenous sedation was said to have been administered using propofol.
However, the notice alleged that during transportation to the cardiac catheterisation laboratory after the MRI, the child developed sudden and severe complications.
Despite being under sedation, he was reportedly transferred between clinical areas under conditions that raised “serious and substantive concerns” about compliance with patient-safety protocols.
He was later pronounced dead in the early hours of January 7.
The legal notice, issued “without prejudice” to the parents’ rights and signed by the law firm led by Professor Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, outlined multiple alleged lapses in paediatric anaesthetic and procedural care.
According to the solicitors, Adichie began the legal steps over her son’s death against Euracare due to concerns about the appropriateness and cumulative dosing of propofol in a critically ill child, inadequate airway protection during deep sedation, and failure to ensure continuous physiological monitoring.
The parents further alleged that their son was transferred without supplemental oxygen, without adequate monitoring, and without sufficient accompanying medical personnel.
According to the solicitors, these alleged lapses amount to prima facie breaches of the duty of care and render the hospital and the medical personnel involved liable for medical negligence resulting in the child’s death.
As part of their next legal steps, the parents demanded certified copies of all medical records relating to their son’s treatment within seven days of receipt of the notice.
As part of their legal demands, the parents requested certified copies of all medical records relating to their son’s treatment within seven days.
- These include admission notes, consent forms, anaesthetic charts, drug administration logs, ICU records, incident reports, and the identities of all medical staff involved.
- The hospital was also instructed to preserve all relevant evidence, including CCTV footage, electronic monitoring data, pharmacy records, and internal communications.
- The letter warned that any destruction or alteration of evidence could amount to obstruction of justice and attract legal consequences.
This comes after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State directed the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) to conduct a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation into Adichie’s son’s death.
