KEY POINTS

• MDCN suspended three doctors pending a formal disciplinary tribunal hearing.
• Ten other Atlantis Hospital practitioners face separate professional misconduct findings.
• A coroner’s inquest at Yaba Magistrate Court is scheduled for April 14.

Nigeria’s Medical and Dental Council has suspended three doctors connected to the death of Nkanu Adichie-Esege, the 21-month-old son of author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, after a regulatory panel found enough evidence to proceed with formal negligence proceedings.

The three are Tosin Majekodunmi, Medical Director of Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital; Titus Ogundare, an anaesthesiologist at the same facility; and Atinuke Uwajeh, Chief Medical Director of Atlantis Paediatric Hospital. All three now face a ban from practising medicine in Nigeria until the Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal concludes its hearing.

How the Boy Died

Nkanu died on January 7, 2026. He had been receiving care at Atlantis Hospital in Lagos for a worsening illness, and his parents were arranging an emergency evacuation to Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States. Before the trip, Atlantis referred him to Euracare on January 6 for pre-flight diagnostic procedures, including an MRI, a lumbar puncture and a central line insertion. He did not survive those procedures.

His parents, Adichie and her husband Dr. Ivara Esege, subsequently engaged Senior Advocate of Nigeria Kemi Pinheiro to pursue legal action. Through Pinheiro, the couple accused Euracare staff of administering an excessive dose of the sedative propofol, failing to monitor the child properly and withholding supplemental oxygen during the procedures. Euracare, however, denied any wrongdoing, insisting the child arrived critically ill and that its staff followed clinical protocols throughout.

What the Panel Found

The MDCN’s Investigative Panel met in Abuja on February 17 and 18 for its 25th session. At the end of that session, it found a prima facie case of medical negligence against the three doctors. Additionally, the panel flagged professional misconduct by 10 other practitioners from Atlantis Paediatric Hospital.

The Council, nonetheless, stressed that its findings remain preliminary and do not constitute a final ruling on guilt. The affected doctors still retain the right to a full hearing before the Disciplinary Tribunal.

Meanwhile, a coroner’s inquest at the Yaba Magistrate Court in Lagos is set to begin April 14. The court has directed all parties to file witness statements and noted that an autopsy report will be critical to establishing the cause of death.