Adichie Accuses Lagos Hospital of Cover-up over Son’s Death, Demands Accountability

Award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has publicly accused Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Lagos of attempting to conceal the circumstances surrounding her 21-month-old son's death earlier this year. Nkanu Nnamdi Adichie-Esege, one of her twin sons, passed away on January 7 following complications allegedly arising from sedation during medical tests.

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to keep silent about Euracare’s evil is to enable it.

Adichie detailed her allegations in a letter to the hospital's Board of Directors, which she published on Facebook. She stated that the hospital's Medical Director, Dr. Tosin Majekodunmi, initially acknowledged that the anaesthesiologist, Dr. Titus Ogundare, failed to meet the standard of care. According to Adichie, Majekodunmi admitted that her son received an excessive dose of propofol, a sedative, and accepted responsibility. She claims Majekodunmi assured her that disciplinary action would be taken and the anaesthesiologist would be dismissed.

However, Adichie alleges that communication from the medical director ceased abruptly, and the hospital's management took over the case. The situation has been further complicated by disciplinary actions from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), which suspended Dr. Ogundare, Dr. Majekodunmi, and Dr. Atinuke Uwajeh of Atlantis Pediatric Hospital pending investigations.

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the Medical Director of Euracare... acknowledged that the anaesthesiologist involved in the procedure, Dr. Titus Ogundare, failed to meet the required standard of care.

Adding to her distress, Adichie claims Euracare inaccurately listed bacterial and fungal meningitis as the cause of death on her son's death certificate. She insists there is no medical basis for this, stating her son was conscious and responsive before sedation for an MRI procedure, after which his condition deteriorated. Adichie maintains the death certificate should reflect the actual sequence of events: improper sedation, hypoxic brain injury, and cardiac arrest.

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the child had been administered an excessive dose of propofol, a sedative commonly used during medical procedures, and accepted responsibility for what transpired.