Acclaimed writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has leveled serious accusations against Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Lagos, claiming the facility is deliberately blocking a coroner’s investigation into her son’s passing. She alleges that negligence in medical treatment was followed by attempts to hide the truth.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Adichie explained that she felt compelled to speak out after what she termed persistent hold-ups and legal maneuvers by the hospital to hinder or derail the inquest. She noted that Euracare originally pushed for a court-ordered inquiry in January, citing concerns about “rumors of negligence,” but later reversed course and tried to shut it down through legal action.
Adichie pointed to discrepancies in how the hospital documented the cause of death. According to her, the initial explanation pointed to complications from sedation during a procedure, but the official death certificate later listed meningitis—a diagnosis she contests. She also stated that hospital officials admitted mistakes shortly after the incident and pledged to hand over medical records and staff reports, which she claims were either delayed, incomplete, or never provided.
She accused the facility of issuing contradictory public statements and engaging in what she described as strategies to shift blame and slow down the investigation. Her legal team, she said, faced obstacles when trying to obtain full medical records, and the documents eventually turned over were, in her assessment, lacking important details.
Adichie said that the drawn-out legal and administrative proceedings have deepened her family’s anguish and stripped them of privacy, stressing that the inquest is crucial for uncovering the truth behind her son’s death. “I wake up every single morning with my heart racing. Did this really happen? My precious son, Nkanu Nnamdi. My KanKan, my diokpala. The ultimate and utter loneliness of grief is that only you can know the true depth of your despair. I long for, at least, peace to mourn, but Euracare Hospital has robbed me even of that,” she wrote.
She added: “I have decided to make this letter public because to keep silent about Euracare’s evil is to enable it. I do not want anyone mentioned to be personally targeted. I have erased two names and left two for clarity and credibility. Since the letter was sent in April, Euracare has become uglier.”