Award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has alleged a cover-up over the death of her son, Nkanu, in January 2026.
In a statement published on her Instagram account on Saturday, Adichie called for a judicial inquest into the circumstances surrounding his death.
She said she decided to make public a letter she had previously sent to the chairman of the board of Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Lagos.
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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.
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.
It was Euracare which first applied for an inquest in January, stating that our son’s death was unexpected and an inquest was in their interest because of ‘rumours of negligence.’ Yet they have stalled and muddied and obfuscated. If this is how Euracare manages a crisis, it is little wonder it mismanaged our precious son’s care. Most egregiously, Euracare is now asking a high court to stop the inquest. An inquest is a public judicial inquiry designed to establish the circumstances surrounding a death. It is not a trial. It is not a claim for damages. It is simply a search for the truth. If Euracare cares about the truth, then why create delays and distractions and now, finally, try to stop an inquest?
A person high up in the hospital ownership told my relative – “I admire and respect Chimamanda so much that I don’t want her to go to court because her name may be dragged in the mud and bad things may be said about her since court cases are about winning and anybody would do anything to win.” What a manipulative and implicitly threatening message to send to a parent whose child died in your hospital. But this threatener does not know how fiercely we love our child. They can drag all they wish in the mud, but our quest for justice will continue. I am deeply grateful to all of the people from across the world who have genuinely wished us well. May you find comfort in your own time of need. Please continue to pray for us. This weight is too heavy.