My Nephew’s Oxygen Supply Was Disconnected – Aunt Reveals How Chimamanda’s Son Died

Dr Anthea Esege Nwandu, aunt of 21-month-old Nkanu Nnamdi Esege, son of Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband Dr Ivara Esege, has challenged the account given by Euracare Multispecialist Hospital regarding the child’s death.

Naija News reports that Dr Nwandu, a United States-based physician, said the hospital’s statement contained errors and that her nephew’s care did not meet internationally accepted medical standards.

Euracare released a statement on January 10, expressing sympathy to the family while noting that some circulating reports about the incident were incorrect.

The hospital said the child had received care at two paediatric centres before being referred to its Victoria Island facility for diagnostic procedures, and that its team followed standard clinical protocols.

Dr Nwandu in a statement on Sunday disputed these claims, saying the child had only been at one hospital prior to Euracare.

She questioned the hospital’s sedation practices, saying that proper procedures require continuous monitoring of oxygen levels, pulse, and breathing, which she said were not provided.

She also raised concerns about how the child was handled while sedated.

According to Dr Nwandu, the anaesthesiologist carried the child on his shoulder without monitoring equipment and alone in an elevator.

She said the child was later transferred to intensive care with oxygen disconnected, leaving him unmonitored, which she described as unsafe and against standard practice.

Dr Nwandu added that the child had been stable before Euracare and was scheduled for medical evacuation to Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States, where a specialist team awaited him.

Dr Nwandu is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and holds a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.