Chimamanda Adichie Moves To Court Over Alleged Medical Lapses In Son’s Treatment

Renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie has taken legal steps against a private hospital in Lagos over the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi Adichie-Esege, alleging medical negligence and serious breaches of professional standards in his treatment.
In a legal notice dated January 10, 2026, Adichie and her partner, Dr. Ivara Esege, through their solicitors, accused the hospital, its anaesthesiologist, and other attending medical personnel of failing in their duty of care, resulting in the child’s death 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 a series of diagnostic and preparatory procedures. These were reportedly ahead of a planned medical evacuation to the United States, where a specialist medical team was said to be on standby to receive him.
The procedures included an echocardiogram, a brain MRI, the insertion of a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC line), and a lumbar puncture. The parents’ solicitors stated that intravenous sedation was administered using propofol during the process.
However, complications allegedly developed during the child’s transfer from the MRI suite to the cardiac catheterisation laboratory. Despite being under sedation, the child was said to have been moved between clinical areas under conditions that raised serious concerns about adherence to established patient-safety and paediatric anaesthesia protocols. He was later pronounced dead.
The legal notice outlines several alleged lapses in care, including questions over the appropriateness and cumulative dosing of propofol in a critically ill child, inadequate airway protection during deep sedation, and the failure to ensure continuous physiological monitoring.
The parents further alleged that their son was transferred without supplemental oxygen, adequate monitoring equipment, or sufficient accompanying medical personnel. They also cited concerns over delayed recognition and management of respiratory or cardiovascular distress, as well as the availability and readiness of basic resuscitation equipment.
Another key grievance raised in the notice was the alleged failure of the hospital to properly disclose the risks and potential side effects of propofol and other anaesthetic agents, which the parents said undermined the requirement for informed consent.
According to the solicitors, led by Prof. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, these alleged failures amount to prima facie breaches of the duty of care and render the hospital and all medical personnel involved liable for medical negligence resulting in the child’s death.
As part of the legal process, the parents have demanded certified copies of all medical records relating to their son’s treatment within seven days. The requested documents include admission and consent forms, pre-anaesthetic assessments, anaesthetic charts, drug administration records, monitoring logs, procedural notes, nursing and ICU records, incident reports, and the identities of all medical staff involved.
The hospital has also been formally placed on notice to preserve all relevant physical and electronic evidence, including CCTV footage, electronic monitoring data, pharmacy and drug inventory records, emergency equipment logs, and internal communications. The solicitors warned that any destruction, alteration, or loss of evidence after receipt of the notice would be treated as obstruction of justice.
The notice concludes that failure by the hospital to comply with the demands within the stipulated timeframe will leave the parents with no option but to pursue all available legal, regulatory, and judicial remedies against the hospital and the medical personnel involved.