A prominent Lagos hospital and one of its senior doctors have been formally notified of impending legal action over the death of the infant son of award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The notice coincides with a regulatory suspension of the involved anaesthesiologist by the Lagos State Government.
In a legal letter dated January 10, 2026, solicitors representing Adichie and her partner, Dr. Ivara Esege, have accused Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital and specific medical personnel of a breach in the duty of care owed to their 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi. The child passed away in the early hours of January 7.
The legal firm PINHEIRO LP, acting for the parents, detailed the sequence of care in the notice signed by its founding partner, Prof. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN). According to the document, the child was transferred to Euracare on January 6 from Atlantis Pediatric Hospital for a series of preparatory procedures. These were to include an echocardiogram, a brain MRI, the placement of a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC line), and a lumbar puncture.
These interventions were reportedly critical final steps before an urgent medical evacuation to the United States, where a specialist team was prepared to receive him. The legal notice states that during these procedures, intravenous sedation was administered using the anaesthetic agent propofol.
The Lagos State Ministry of Health has confirmed the immediate suspension of the anaesthesiologist involved in the case as official investigations into the circumstances of the child’s death proceed.
