Award-winning Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says Euracare Hospital in Lagos is deliberately blocking a coroner’s inquest into the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu.
Adichie said the inquest was scheduled for April, but the hospital has since “stalled and muddied and obfuscated,” and is now asking Nigeria’s Federal High Court to stop the inquiry altogether, according to a letter she posted online last week.
Nkanu, one of twin boys born via surrogate in 2024, died on Jan. 7. He had been admitted to Atlantis Hospital in Lagos with what was described as a mild but worsening illness. His family had arranged to fly him to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for further care. Before the trip, he was sent to Euracare for pre-flight tests, including an MRI and a lumbar puncture. He died there after those procedures.
Adichie and her family allege negligence. They claim Euracare doctors withheld oxygen from Nkanu and over-sedated him, leading to cardiac arrest. They also dispute the cause of death listed on his certificate — bacterial meningitis — saying “there was no medical evidence to make such a claim.”
In her April letter to Euracare’s director, Adichie also accused the hospital of handing over incomplete and “strikingly unprofessional” medical records, with “one inaccurate.”[record]
Euracare told the BBC it offers its “deepest sympathies” but denies any wrongdoing, saying its care met international standards. A separate panel from Nigeria’s Medical and Dental Council had previously found a possible case of medical negligence against the hospital. The BBC has asked Euracare for further comment.
Adichie said she broke her silence because the hospital’s delays have denied her “peace to mourn.” “If Euracare cares about the truth, then why create delays and distractions and now, finally, try to stop an inquest,” she wrote.
The author of Half of a Yellow Sun and Americanah lives in the U.S. but was in Nigeria for the holidays when her son fell ill.
