Award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has released a deeply personal letter detailing the final moments of her three-year-old son, Nkanu, and accusing Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital of a sustained effort to evade responsibility for the circumstances surrounding his death.
In the four-page letter dated April 16, 2026 and addressed to the chairman of the hospital’s board, Adichie described the pain of losing her son and alleged that the hospital’s actions after the tragedy had compounded her family’s grief.
“Our twin boys were our precious and perfect gifts,” she wrote, recalling Nkanu’s affectionate nature, his close bond with his twin brother and his love for family gatherings.
Adichie said the loss had devastated the family, leaving behind “two highchairs in the dining room, two car seats in the car, two toddler beds in the bedroom. And now only one toddler.”
While alleging that an excessive dose of propofol administered during sedation led to her son’s death, the novelist focused much of the letter on what she described as efforts by Euracare to suppress the truth.
She alleged that the hospital initially acknowledged mistakes made during the procedure, with Medical Director Dr. Tosin Majekodunmi reportedly telling her that the anaesthesiologist had given the child “too much propofol” and later accepting responsibility for errors and negligence.
According to Adichie, that position changed after hospital management took over communications, leading to delays in releasing medical records and the withholding of written reports from staff members involved in the incident.
She further alleged that the records eventually provided were incomplete and did not contain a report from the anaesthesiologist, Dr. Titus Ogundare.
The author also accused the hospital of issuing a death certificate attributing the boy’s death to bacterial and fungal meningitis despite, she said, the absence of medical evidence supporting such a conclusion.
She claimed that media reports suggesting meningitis was responsible for the child’s death were part of an attempt to divert attention from the events that followed the sedation procedure.
Adichie criticised a condolence letter sent by the hospital’s board, describing it as insincere because it failed to acknowledge what she maintained had occurred.
“It is as if our son somehow magically died and Euracare then decided to send us a letter,” she wrote.
The novelist also accused the hospital of deploying delaying tactics at the ongoing coroner’s inquest into the child’s death, saying the process should be approached with transparency and dignity.
“There are certain things in life for which only the truth serves as acceptable response,” Adichie stated.
The lack of moral courage exhibited by Euracare is shameful.”
Nkanu, the elder of Adichie’s twin sons, died on January 7, 2026, following complications arising from sedation procedures at Euracare.
As of the time of filing this report, Euracare had yet to respond to Adichie’s allegations.
(The Whistler)