They’ve robbed me of peace – Chimamanda Adichie accuses Euracare of obstructing inquest over son’s death

Renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has publicly accused Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Lagos of obstructing a coroner’s inquest into the death of her son, alleging negligence in his medical care and a subsequent cover-up attempt by the hospital.

In a statement released on Facebook on Saturday, Adichie said she decided to make her concerns public after what she described as repeated delays and legal efforts by the hospital to halt or frustrate the inquest process.

She said Euracare had initially sought a judicial inquest in January following the death of her son, describing it as being in their interest due to “rumours of negligence,” but later allegedly stalled the process and attempted to stop it entirely through court action.

Adichie further alleged that inconsistencies existed in the hospital’s documentation of the cause of death, claiming that while her son was initially described as having suffered complications following sedation during a medical procedure, the death certificate later attributed the cause to meningitis — a claim she disputed.

She also alleged that hospital officials admitted to errors shortly after the incident and promised to provide medical records and staff reports, which she said were either delayed, incomplete, or not delivered.

The author further accused the hospital of issuing conflicting public statements and engaging in what she described as attempts to deflect responsibility and delay investigative proceedings.

According to her, efforts by her legal team to obtain full medical records were met with resistance, while the documents eventually provided were, in her view, incomplete.

Adichie said the ongoing legal and administrative processes have intensified her family’s grief and deprived them of privacy, stressing that the inquest is necessary to establish the circumstances surrounding 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.

“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,” part of her statement read.