Sources familiar with the case have told SaharaReporters that no autopsy was conducted on the remains of 26-year-old Mary Habila before she was buried in Kaduna State, despite a prolonged dispute over a forensic examination to establish the cause of her death.
Habila was buried quietly in Nok, Kaduna State, on Friday, August 21, nearly two months after she died at the Ebonyi State residence of Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi.
The development has renewed questions over the circumstances surrounding her death and the fate of the forensic examination that had been at the centre of a legal and public controversy involving the deceased’s family, the Nigeria Police Force, Umahi and the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU).
“I heard she (Mary Habila) was buried without autopsy,” a source privy to the matter told SaharaReporters.
Another source was more categorical, saying: “She was buried without any autopsy conducted on her to determine the exact cause of her death.”
The Southern Kaduna Peoples United Associations (SOKAPU), which had instituted a ₦20 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit seeking an independent investigation and forensic examination, said it was not informed whether an autopsy had eventually been conducted.
SOKAPU President Samuel Tabara Kato told SaharaReporters on Monday: “I’m not sure whether autopsy was done or not. It wasn’t communicated to us. I don’t know whether police authorities at headquarters ensured the autopsy was done but it was never communicated to the union.”
The uncertainty is significant because the police had initially insisted that an autopsy was necessary to determine the cause of Habila’s death, while her family later agreed to the examination subject to conditions concerning the handling of the investigation.
How Habila died
Habila died at Umahi’s residence on June 27, 2026. Umahi subsequently confirmed that the young woman died at his home but maintained that there was no wrongdoing on his part.
The circumstances of her death became controversial after photographs purportedly showing blood around her nose and mouth circulated publicly.
SaharaReporters, citing police and medical sources, previously reported that Habila allegedly had signs consistent with blunt-force trauma after her death.
One source had told SaharaReporters: “The deceased bore signs of blunt force trauma after her death.”
Other sources also alleged that Habila was bleeding from her nose and mouth when she was taken from Umahi’s residence.
The allegations have not been independently established, and Umahi has consistently denied wrongdoing.
There were also conflicting accounts about Habila’s occupation. Umahi initially described her as a physiotherapist who had been seconded from the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences to work with the Federal Ministry of Works.
The Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy, however, later said Habila’s name was not on its register of licensed physiotherapists. SaharaReporters subsequently reported that she was a Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW).
An account by Anita Baaki, a physiotherapist who travelled with Habila, stated that Habila visited her room on the evening of June 26 and said she wanted to take a shower before going to bed.
Baaki said Habila was later found unconscious in her room and taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police initially sought autopsy
Following Habila’s death, the Ebonyi State Police Command maintained that a forensic autopsy was necessary given the circumstances of the case.
The position was reportedly supported by legal advice from the Ebonyi State Director of Public Prosecutions, J.U. Chukwu.
The DPP reportedly noted that available information indicated Habila had “laid lifeless on the floor of her apartment naked with blood stain on her nose and mouth”, and said a post-mortem examination could provide crucial evidence concerning the cause of her sudden and unexplained death.
The DPP, however, reportedly advised that the police retained discretion either to proceed with the examination or respect the family’s wishes.
The disagreement over the examination delayed Habila’s burial.
Her family initially opposed an autopsy and sought the release of her remains for burial. Her father, Tanko Habila Wisdom, subsequently filed an affidavit withdrawing from the legal proceedings and stating that the family did not suspect foul play.
He also asked that the police discontinue further investigation into the death.
Family later agreed to examination
The family later agreed to an autopsy, but on the condition that the investigation be transferred from Ebonyi State to the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja.
The police subsequently took over the investigation, while Habila’s remains were reportedly moved to Abuja and deposited at the National Hospital.
The transfer raised expectations that an independent forensic examination would finally be conducted and that the results could help resolve questions surrounding her death.
However, no autopsy report establishing the cause of death was publicly disclosed before Habila was buried.
Umahi had also publicly called for a forensic examination, saying it was necessary to establish the actual cause of Habila’s death.
Through his lawyers, he reportedly urged the police to engage qualified forensic pathologists to examine the remains before they were released for burial.
SOKAPU filed ₦20bn suit
The controversy over Habila’s death eventually led SOKAPU to file a ₦20 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit at the Kaduna State High Court.
The suit, marked KDH/KAF/26/2026, named Umahi, the Attorney-General of Ebonyi State, the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police and Habila’s father as defendants.
SOKAPU described Habila’s death as “unexplained, controversial and unnatural” and asked the court to order a fresh police investigation and an independent forensic autopsy.
The organisation also proposed that pathologists from Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria, the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, and the National Hospital, Abuja, be involved in the examination.
SOKAPU argued that all relevant evidence should be preserved and that the investigation should be completed before Habila’s remains were released for burial.
The case also generated allegations of intimidation. Kato alleged that Umahi contacted him on WhatsApp after learning about the lawsuit and threatened legal action.
Kato alleged that the minister told him: “I am David Umahi, the Honourable Minister of Works. I saw your suit against me, you need money right? I will teach you a lesson of your life such that you will learn never to mess with person like me. I will give you 10 lawsuits. People are mourning and there you are taking me to court. I will deal with you!”
Umahi has not been established to have committed any wrongdoing in relation to Habila’s death, and the allegations surrounding the circumstances of her death remain unresolved.
Umahi denies wrongdoing
Amid the controversy, Umahi repeatedly denied involvement in Habila’s death and maintained that the circumstances should be established through investigation.
The minister also disclosed that some people had called for his removal from office over the incident, but said President Bola Tinubu had instead encouraged him to continue his work.
“They said the President should sack me. Why should he sack me? For doing what? Because somebody working with me died, then I must be sacked?” Umahi said.
“But the President surprised all of them. He told me, ‘Dave, go and build more roads,’” he added.
Umahi also said Habila’s death had affected him personally and maintained that he had no hand in it.
“My prayer is that if any member of my family or I had any hand in it, let our own fate be worse,” he said.
Burial triggers fresh reactions
The burial has now triggered renewed public reactions, particularly over the absence of a publicly disclosed autopsy report and uncertainty over whether any examination was conducted before Habila’s remains were interred.
For instance, a lawyer, E.P Aninze Esq. (@EkeneAninze), wrote on X, “So this girl, Mary Habila, has been buried and yeah, without any autopsy conducted on her to determine the exact cause of her death.
“Reports had it that Mary Habila’s corpse was released for burial on Friday, August 21, 2026, in her hometown of Nok, Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, by the Nigerian Police.
“The funniest thing is that Mary Habila died in mysterious circumstances around the same period Favour Agbro also died in mysterious circumstances.
“Guess what? By the time the case of Favour Agbro got to the public, she had already been buried, yet the Nigerian Police ordered that her corpse be exhumed for a post-mortem examination.”
“Even though the circumstances surrounding her own death suggested that she may have committed suicide, her body was still exhumed and an autopsy was conducted,” the lawyer added.
“And yeah, the suspect, who allegedly had no immediate direct link with the incident, is still in custody as we speak.
“Yet Mary Habila, whose death also occurred under questionable circumstances, was released for burial without an autopsy, despite the fact that the police had every opportunity to conduct one before her burial.”
A Facebook user identified as Mr Reality alleged that the manner in which Habila was buried could make a future examination more difficult.
“The ONLY reason they decided to bury Mary Habila like this with double concrete is to permanently stop anyone that might want to exhume her body for Autopsy. Remember that autopsy has not been done to determine the cause of her death + Unresolved Questions Over Death At Umahi’s Residence.”
Another Facebook user, Uche Samuel Chukwueke, criticised the handling of the case, writing: “As her death was swept under the carpet,with no proper investigation to uncover her death,many will still die like her and nothing will happen. If is a poor man,by now,the man will be languishing in prison.”
Efforts by SaharaReporters to reach the spokesman for the Nigeria Police Force, CSP Anietie Iniedu, on his mobile phone for comment had not been successful as of the time of filing this report.
(SaharaReporters)