July 19, (THEWILL) — Public accountability. Transparent and independent investigation. Verifiable autopsy. These are strong words being used by stakeholders across the social strata in Nigeria to address the controversy surrounding the death of Mary Habila, a 26- year- old nurse, at the Ebonyi home of Minister of Works, Dave Umahi.
Conflicting accounts of Habila’s death has ignited a public debate. Umahi and Habila’s colleague, Anita Baaki, have given individual accounts of the incident. Umahi did so in a press conference, while Baaki swore an affidavit in court.
On Friday, however, Mary’s father, Tanko Habila alongside her mother and family lawyer, Kale Yusuf, stormed the office of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to demand the release of Mary’s corpse for burial, saying they were not interested in autopsy and under no pressure from anyone.
They submitted the petition at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Friday, saying the continued detention of his daughter’s body by the Ebonyi State Police Command had compounded the family’s grief.
Addressing journalists shortly after submitting the petition, Mr Habila maintained that the family, as earlier stated in an affidavit before the High Court of Justice in Ebonyi State, was not interested in an autopsy and had no reason to suspect foul play in the circumstances surrounding Mary’s death.
Speaking after the family’s lawyer addressed the media, the father of the deceased appealed to the police to respect the family’s wishes and allow them to bury their daughter.
“As we are standing here, somebody can fall and die. It has happened. All we want is her body”, he said.
But the Middle Belt Forum has kicked against the parental request for no autopsy. Spokesperson of the group, Luka Binniyat told THEWILL that the police authorities should ignore Mr. Habila’s request.
“Her father’s position is inferior to the law. This is not a civil matter. She is a Nigerian citizen. She is owned by the country and has to be protected by the law, no matter the wish of her father. Why are those who are involved with the matter going to court to swear an affidavit? We were told she was a physiotherapist until the organisation came out to deny her membership and then her new designation became a nurse. These moves appear to be attempts to cover-up the matter. We in the Middle Belt Forum insist on a coroner’s inquest before she is buried.”
He said the police must be allowed to conduct a proper investigation to uncover the truth about Habila’s death. Lawyer and public affairs commentator, Liborous Oshioma agrees with Biniyat’s submission on the conduct of a coroner’s inquest over her death.
Meanwhile, Baaki, who was also on the Minister’s entourage and Umahi have given their account of the incident separately. In a sworn affidavit at the Ebonyi High Court, Anita Baaki, stated that late Miss Habila was found unconscious inside her room after failing to respond to repeated telephone calls and knocks on her door. Baaki further stated that she had to alert other staff in the compound and they broke the door, which was locked from inside. Habila was rushed to the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital, where doctors confirmed that she was brought in dead.
According to Umahi, the deceased had a medical condition that made him spend N2m at a Turkish hospital in Abuja, recently, adding that she complained of bleeding from her nose during a phone conversation with her boyfriend shortly before she was found dead.
“She has her medical records in a Turkish hospital, being paid by us. The last one was on April, and it cost me N2.2 million. The records are there. I paid N2.2 million,” he said, adding, “My lawyers have spoken on my behalf. But one piece of information I want to correct is that the lady in question was like a daughter to me. She had stayed with me for three years. She was a staff of the Federal Medical University. She was a nurse and not a physiotherapist. And her family and my family are like one family.”
The Minister also gave an account of how Habila died.
He said, “She spoke to her boyfriend at the hour of her death and complained that she was bleeding from the nose. The boyfriend said, ‘No, you have to report it.’ She said it had stopped. The boyfriend then said, ‘Listen, I will not continue this conversation since you are bleeding. It will increase the bleeding.’
“She told the boyfriend, ‘Don’t cut the call.’ The boyfriend cut the call. Three minutes later, the boyfriend called again. She was not responding. Even in the morning, she told her boyfriend she was going to bathe because she had locked her door. When they discovered something was wrong, they broke down the door and discovered her dead. The tap was still running.”
Umahi further disclosed that the guest house where the deceased died was located far from his personal residence, meaning that he was unaware of what may have led to her death.
“People should be careful when they want to use the unfortunate death of a young girl to play politics. We have been begging the parents to allow an autopsy to happen. They said it is against their culture. But we insisted through our lawyer that an autopsy should happen. I have directed that the corpse cannot be removed until an autopsy.”
He said he had reported to the Inspector-General of Police and requested him to transfer the case to Abuja.
“Let them beg the family to do an autopsy. I am also begging the family to meet with the Inspector-General so that he can convince them,” he said. He further disclosed that late Habila had a history of bleeding from the nose, quoting her boyfriend, “The boyfriend also told us that when we were in Lagos, she called him and said she was bleeding from the nose. He advised her to report to me so I could send her back to the hospital, but she didn’t want to stress me. He then told her to find a hospital nearby and seek treatment.”
He urged the police to look up the telephone records between the late Habila and her boyfriend.
“I suspect no foul play because the other lady who stayed with her was sleeping in the same bed. Her room was still locked, and the door had to be broken before they discovered the body. The tap was still running because I think she was going to bathe,” he said.
He blamed the police for taking photographs of Mary’s corpse at the morgue and circulating them, saying, “When they took her to the mortuary, that was where the police took the picture. They did not dress her up in the mortuary before taking the picture and sending out damaging information.”
Public criticism has continued to trail the incident.
National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, demanded Umahi’s suspension from office, pending the outcome of investigation. He argued that the minister’s continued stay in office would undermine public confidence in any probe.
“The explanations offered so far have done little to answer the questions that continue to trouble Nigerians. What exactly was the nature of Ms Habila’s official assignment? Why was she residing in the Minister’s private residence? What were the precise circumstances leading to her death? What have investigators established so far? These are legitimate questions that can only be answered by facts and evidence, not assurances,” Abdullahi asked.
Similarly, Ebonyi Police Command has insisted on going ahead with the conduct of a post-mortem examination on Habila’s body despite her family’s resistance.
The police have acted on legal advice from the Ebonyi State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), J.U. Chukwu, who stated that only a post-mortem examination could determine the cause of Habila’s sudden and unnatural death.
The DPP noted that “available evidence showed Habila was alone when she was found dead, adding that there was no indication she had been ill before her death.”
Ohanaeze Ndigbo has rallied support for Umahi and rejected calls by Presidential candidate of the ADC, Atiku Abubakar and the Obidient Movement on President Bola Tinubu to suspend Umahi from office until after public enquiry into Habila’s death.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
