Nigerian Writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Blames Hospital for 21-Month-Old Son’s Death

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is blaming a hospital in Lagos, Nigeria, for the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu. 

The Nigerian author was visiting Lagos for the holidays when her son suffered an infection. Nkanu died on Jan. 6, which, according to The New York Times, was one day before he was supposed to be flown to The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. 

Nkanu was one of Adichie and her husband, Dr. Ivara Esege’s twin boys. The couple also share a 9-year-old daughter. 

In a leaked WhatsApp chat with family and friends, Adichie claimed the Euracare Hospital in Lagos was negligent in their care, including by allegedly giving the young boy too much propofol sedation and not monitoring him afterwards, which she said led to seizures and cardiac arrests. 

Omawumi Ogbe, a family spokesperson, confirmed the conversation’s contents to PEOPLE. In the private chat, Adichie alleged that the anesthesiologist was “CRIMINALLY negligent,” claiming he turned off her son’s oxygen and carried him on his shoulder to the ICU. 

The grieving mother described her son’s condition entering the hospital as “unwell but stable” before adding, “Suddenly, our beautiful little boy was gone forever. It’s like living your worst nightmare. I will never survive the loss of my child.” 

Adichie’s sister-in-law, Dr. Anthea Nwandu, alleged to Nigerian broadcaster AriseTV that Nkanu suffered a brain injury due to lack of oxygen, per BBC.

Ogbe told PEOPLE in a statement that while Adichie’s detailed comment about her son’s death was “not meant for public consumption,” she added, “While we are saddened that such a deeply personal account of grief and trauma was leaked, the details therein highlight the devastating clinical failures the family is now forced to confront. We hope that the substance of that message, detailing the gross medical negligence that led to this tragedy, remains the central focus even as we look forward to the truth and accountability.”

The spokesperson added, “A legal notice has been issued to Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital, and the family will work with their legal representatives to engage the appropriate institutions.”

Euracare Hospital released a response to Adichie’s leaked claims, telling The New York Times that Nkanu arrived critically ill, adding, “the suggestion that this tragic outcome resulted from medical negligence is erroneous.”

The hospital also told the BBC that “reports currently being circulated contain inaccuracies,” calling Nkanu’s death a “profound and unimaginable loss.” 

PEOPLE has reached out to Euracare Hospital for additional comment, but didn’t immediately receive a response.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.   

On Jan. 8, Ogbe released a statement confirming Nkanu’s death. 

“The family is devastated by this profound loss, and we request that their privacy be respected during this incredibly difficult time,” Ogbe said at the time. “We ask for your grace and prayers as they mourn in private.”

Adichie gave birth to her first child, a daughter, in 2016. Her twin boys arrived via surrogate in 2024, per the BBC.

The Purple Hibiscus author was named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2015, and later that year, she wrote an open essay to graduates, encouraging them to “make feminism an inclusive party.” 

Adichie’s “We Should All Be Feminists” TED Talk was also sampled in Beyoncé’s 2013 song “**Flawless.”

In a 2016 interview with BBC’s Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, the Chino’s Treasure Hunt author shared why she kept the birth of her first child out of the public eye, calling motherhood “a very personal, private thing.” She added that she “resents the way that women are expected to perform parenthood in a way that men are not.”