The father of Mary Habila, the 26-year-old woman who died at the residence of Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, has declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding her death as the family prepares for her burial.
SaharaReporters learnt that Baba Habila was at the morgue in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, on Wednesday morning to receive his daughter’s body ahead of her burial in her hometown of Nok, Kaduna State.
Jerry Andrew Ham, President General of the Ham People and Secretary-General of the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU), confirmed the development to SaharaReporters.
According to Ham, Baba Habila and the family’s lawyer, Barrister Yusuf, informed members of the community that Mary Habila would be buried on Friday in Nok and that the family would not be requesting an autopsy before the burial.
When contacted by SaharaReporters, Baba Habila was visibly emotional. Speaking through sobs, he said he did not wish to comment on the matter before ending the telephone conversation.
Mary Habila died on June 27, 2026, at the residence of Minister Umahi in Uburu, Ebonyi State. The circumstances surrounding her death remain under police investigation.
The case has attracted widespread public attention following conflicting accounts over the events leading to her death and calls for a transparent investigation.
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters learnt from a source that Minister Umahi was at the residence when Habila died but reportedly departed shortly afterwards. Although he has acknowledged that Habila died at his residence, he has not publicly disclosed whether he was present at the time of the incident.
“Dave Umahi was in the house when she died but I heard he hurriedly left after Mary Habila died,” a source told SaharaReporters.
SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that Habila was found dead a day after she and another woman, Anita Baski, arrived at the minister’s residence from Kaduna State.
Police sources familiar with the investigation said the two women were brought to the residence on June 26 and that Habila was found unresponsive the following morning.
The incident was initially handled by the Ohaozara Divisional Police Headquarters before the case was transferred to the Ebonyi State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Abakaliki for further investigation.
Following SaharaReporters’ exclusive report, Minister Umahi confirmed that Habila died at his residence. He said she was a physiotherapist who had been seconded from the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences to the Federal Ministry of Works and maintained that he advised the family to consent to an autopsy to establish the cause of death, claiming they initially declined.
However, police sources involved in the investigation subsequently challenged aspects of the minister’s account, telling SaharaReporters that investigators were not convinced Habila and Anita Baski were employees of the university as claimed.
The sources also maintained that an autopsy remained necessary and should be conducted before the body was released for burial.
According to the police sources, lawyers acting on behalf of the minister sought the release of Habila’s body for burial in Ebonyi State.
“Investigators however declined the request, maintaining that the death remains under active investigation and that releasing the body before the necessary forensic and investigative processes are concluded would be inappropriate given the public interest in the case,” a top source informed SaharaReporters on Monday.
Police sources further disclosed that Jonathan Bawado, a police officer serving as Senator David Umahi’s Personal Assistant and who previously served as his Aide-de-Camp (ADC) during Umahi’s tenure as Governor of Ebonyi State, was responsible for bringing the two women to the residence.
According to the sources, Bawado was also the individual who alerted medical personnel after Habila was discovered unresponsive.
The incident has also raised public questions about why staff of the university teaching hospital were reportedly seconded to the residence of the Minister of Works without any publicly known official assignment.
Other sources said investigators had received information suggesting that members of Habila’s family were being pressured not to insist on an autopsy.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mary Habila’s death remains ongoing.
The case generated further public attention after SaharaReporters reported that Habila was reportedly found without clothing when her body was removed from the minister’s residence.
This has intensified calls for a thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.
Police investigators are continuing to examine the sequence of events leading to Habila’s death, including who was present at the residence, what actions were taken after she was found unresponsive, and when emergency medical assistance was requested.
The authorities have yet to publicly disclose the cause of her death or release the findings of their investigation.
(SaharaReporters)