A Death in Uburu: Questions, Power, and the Demand for Truth in the Mary Habila Case
When a 26-year-old nurse dies alone in a locked room inside the country home of a sitting minister, and nearly two weeks pass before Nigerians hear about it, the silence itself becomes part of the evidence. That is why the death of Mary Habila at the Ebonyi residence of the Minister of Works, David Umahi, has moved beyond a private tragedy and into a national test of accountability, of how police investigate, and of whether public office still comes with public scrutiny.
Habila reportedly died on June 27. Her body was found on the floor of a room in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area. According to a legal advice from the Ebonyi State Ministry of Justice signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, she was found naked with blood stains around her nose and mouth, and there was no indication she had been ill before her sudden death. A close friend and colleague, Anita Baaki, said in an affidavit that she last saw Habila alive on the evening of June 26, when Habila stopped by to show off a new hairstyle and said she was tired and wanted to shower. The next morning, after calls went unanswered, staff forced the door open and found her unconscious. She was rushed to the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital and confirmed dead on arrival. The public only learned of the incident on July 11, when Sahara Reporters reported it, and that delay immediately raised questions about transparency.
From the beginning, the police and the family took opposing positions. The Ebonyi State Police Command said a post-mortem examination was necessary given the circumstances, and that detectives had visited the scene, taken statements, and were arranging for a qualified pathologist. They also said family representatives would be invited to witness the process. The DPP’s advice supported that view, stating plainly that the central question — what caused the sudden death — could only be answered scientifically, and that an autopsy was needed to guide the investigation.
The family, however, asked the court to stop it. In an affidavit filed on July 13, Habila’s father, Tanko Habila, urged the Ebonyi State High Court to order the police to discontinue the investigation and release the body for burial without an autopsy. He said the family appreciated efforts to determine the cause of death but would not consent to an autopsy, and that they wanted “to leave her body and organs intact.” He also stated that he did not suspect foul play and did not intend to honour further police or court invitations. The affidavit further revealed that Habila was a staff member of David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences who had been seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works about three years earlier, and that she served as the minister’s personal nurse, residing in the guest house in Abuja and in staff quarters in Ebonyi when required for duty.
That request is what turned a tragedy into a legal and public controversy, because under Nigerian law a suspicious or unnatural death is not a private matter. Legal practitioner Hameed Jimoh explained that criminal investigation in such cases is the sole responsibility of the police, and that the state has obligations under human rights law to protect the right to life. An autopsy is a forensic tool, and families do not have the legal capacity to stop it where investigators consider it necessary. The point, he and other lawyers argued, is not to disregard grief, but to ensure evidence is preserved and that the state can determine cause of death without speculation filling the gap.
The political pressure that followed was built on that same concern about perception. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar called on President Bola Tinubu to direct Umahi to temporarily step aside pending investigations, saying it was the minimum standard of public accountability and that “no official under this cloud should preside over a federal ministry as though it were business as usual.” Atiku also urged the Inspector-General of Police to transfer the case from the Ebonyi Command to Force Headquarters with independent forensic experts, and demanded a full, independent and internationally credible autopsy whose findings should be made public. Activist Omoyele Sowore similarly called for a coroner’s inquest. The argument was not an assertion of guilt, but that when a death occurs on the premises of a high-ranking official, the investigation must be seen to be free from influence.
Umahi has denied any wrongdoing. Speaking in Abuja after a Federal Executive Council meeting, he described Habila as “like a daughter” who had worked with his family for three years. He clarified that she was a nurse employed by David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences, not a physiotherapist as some reports had claimed, and said he had personally paid about N2.2 million of her hospital bills in April for an undisclosed illness. He recounted that she had told her boyfriend she had a nosebleed, then said it had stopped, and that when the boyfriend called back shortly after she was no longer responding. The next morning, colleagues forced the door open and found her with the bathroom tap still running. Umahi said the guest house was separate from his personal residence and questioned attempts to hold him personally responsible simply because the incident occurred on government-linked premises. He said he had asked the IGP to transfer the investigation to Abuja and that he supported an autopsy.
Despite the family’s objection, the police have maintained that investigation will continue. The command said it received a distress call on the day of the incident and that the Commissioner of Police transferred the matter to the State Criminal Investigation Department. They confirmed that both Habila and Baaki were part of the minister’s medical team and had travelled from Abuja to Uburu for official duties. The burial earlier scheduled in Jaba, Kaduna State, has now been postponed indefinitely, with a member of the Kaduna State House of Assembly confirming the shift. No official reason was given, but it came while police insisted the process must be completed.
What keeps public trust fragile are the gaps that remain. The nearly two-week delay before the death was reported, the presence of blood around the nose and mouth in a young person with no documented prior illness, and the family’s request to halt investigation all create questions that only a forensic process can answer. The DPP’s advice captured it directly: the natural question is what caused the sudden death, and that can only be resolved through post-mortem examination. Without it, rumour becomes the default explanation.
This case also sits against a broader context. Months earlier, while serving as governor, Umahi faced public allegations from businesswoman Tracy Ohiri of harassment over a contract dispute. He denied them and the matter was settled without conviction, but rights groups at the time called for thorough investigation. That history does not prove anything about Habila’s death, but it shapes how Nigerians interpret new allegations involving public officials, particularly when institutions are perceived as slow or selective.
In the end, the issue is not about dismissing the family’s wishes. It is about whether the state can meet its duty to investigate a death that touches a high office. An independent investigation, moved out of the state command, with transparent findings, would address the central demand being made by lawyers, activists and political leaders. It would also protect the family and witnesses from pressure, and give investigators space to work without the weight of political proximity.
Mary Habila was 26. By her friend’s account, she was tired after a trip and looking forward to rest. What happened in the hours after that is still unknown. Until a credible, forensic answer is provided, the calls for a comprehensive and independent investigation will continue, because in a democracy the burden is on government to show that every life, and every death, is treated with the same standard of truth, no matter where it occurs.
