Renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie has called for accountability from a private hospital in Lagos, alleging medical negligence and professional misconduct following the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi, after undergoing medical treatment.
In a detailed legal notice dated January 10, 2026, solicitors acting for Adichie and her partner, Dr Ivara Esege, alleged that the hospital, its anaesthesiologist and 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.
These included an echocardiogram, brain MRI, insertion of a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC line), and a lumbar puncture, all ahead of a planned medical evacuation to the United States, where a specialist medical team was said to be on standby.
The notice was issued “without prejudice” to the parents’ rights and was signed by the law firm led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN.
The solicitors stated that intravenous sedation using propofol was administered during the procedures.
However, during transportation to the cardiac catheterisation laboratory after the MRI, the child allegedly developed sudden and severe complications.
Despite being under sedation, he was said to have been 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 outlined multiple alleged lapses in paediatric anaesthetic and procedural care, including:
Concerns over the appropriateness and cumulative dosing of propofol in a critically ill child
Alleged inadequate airway protection during deep sedation
Failure to ensure continuous physiological monitoring
Transfer without supplemental oxygen, adequate monitoring or sufficient accompanying medical personnel
Questions over the availability of basic resuscitation equipment
Alleged delayed recognition and management of respiratory or cardiovascular compromise
The parents also alleged an overall failure to comply with established paediatric anaesthesia, patient-transfer and safety protocols.
Another major grievance cited was the alleged failure of the hospital to adequately disclose the risks and potential side effects of propofol and other anaesthetic agents, which the parents said undermined the legal requirement for informed consent.
The solicitors said these alleged failures amounted to prima facie breaches of duty of care, rendering the hospital and involved medical personnel liable for medical negligence resulting in the child’s death.
As part of the 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.
The requested documents include admission notes, consent forms, pre-anaesthetic assessments, anaesthetic charts, drug administration records, monitoring logs, procedural notes, nursing observations, ICU records, incident reports and the identities of all medical staff involved.
They also requested internal reviews, MRI suite safety logs and all related documentation.
The hospital was further placed on notice to preserve all evidence, including CCTV footage, electronic monitoring data, pharmacy and drug inventory records, emergency equipment logs, internal communications and any morbidity and mortality reviews.
The solicitors warned that any destruction, alteration or loss of evidence after receipt of the notice would be treated as suppression of evidence and obstruction of justice, with attendant legal consequences.
They added that failure to comply with the demands within the stipulated timeframe would leave the parents with no option but to pursue all available legal, regulatory and judicial remedies against the hospital and all medical personnel involved.
