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The circumstances surrounding the death of Mary Habila, a physiotherapist attached to the Federal Ministry of Works, remain unclear days after she died at the home of Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, in Uburu, Ebonyi State. The case has drawn widespread public attention, with many Nigerians demanding transparency and accountability as conflicting accounts continue to emerge about the events leading to her death.
Public scrutiny intensified after Sahara Reporters published a report alleging that questions surrounding the circumstances of Habila’s death had not been fully addressed. The report prompted widespread discussion online and renewed calls for an independent investigation into what happened. Responding to the allegations, Umahi has denied any attempt to conceal the incident and says an autopsy remains the most credible way to establish the cause of Habila’s death.
According to a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, emergency medical personnel, including the Chief Medical Director of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, were contacted immediately after the incident. The statement added that the Nigeria Police was also notified.
The minister’s office said Umahi later met with Habila’s parents to offer his condolences and advised that an autopsy be conducted to determine the exact cause of death. According to the statement, the family declined the recommendation at the time. Umahi has since renewed his call for an autopsy, describing it as the most reliable means of establishing the facts. The statement also clarified that Habila and Anita Baski were physiotherapists employed by the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences who had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works for the past three years, contradicting earlier reports that described Habila as a nurse. At the time of publication, authorities had not publicly released the cause of Habila’s death, and the Ebonyi State Police Command had not announced the outcome of its investigation.
Mary Habila’s death has also prompted widespread speculation about her personal life, much of it unsupported by evidence. Across social media and some online platforms, attention has increasingly shifted to who she was and why she was at the residence instead of the unanswered questions surrounding her death.
