Fresh details have emerged surrounding the death of Mary Habila, a nurse attached to the David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences and seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works, following a sworn affidavit filed by her colleague and close friend, Anita Baaki, before the Ebonyi State High Court.
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Baaki, a physiotherapist from Benue State, said she was part of a delegation of staff who travelled from Abuja to Ebonyi State on June 24 for official assignments under the Minister of Works, David Umahi. According to her affidavit, the team was lodged in separate but adjoining rooms within a staff chalet situated on the minister’s country home in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area — a facility she said was designated for staff and associates rather than the minister’s personal quarters.
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Baaki recounted that on the evening of June 26, Habila returned from a hair appointment and visited her room to show off the new style. The two spoke and laughed together before Habila mentioned she was tired and planned to shower before retiring for the night.
“Mary told me she was tired and wanted to take a shower before sleeping. That was the last time I saw her alive,” Baaki stated in the affidavit.
The following morning, Baaki grew uneasy when Habila failed to emerge as usual. After repeated unanswered calls, she knocked on Habila’s door, only to find it locked from within with no response. She then enlisted a domestic staff member to help search the premises, and when Habila could not be located elsewhere, other staff were alerted and the door was forced open.
Habila was found unconscious on the floor near the entrance and rushed to the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Umahi’s Lawyers Push for Forensic Autopsy
As investigations proceed, legal representatives for Minister Umahi have formally petitioned the Ebonyi State Police Command to carry out a full forensic autopsy before Habila’s remains are released for burial.
In a letter to the Commissioner of Police, the minister’s lawyers said the request was intended to guarantee transparency, safeguard the integrity of the ongoing probe, and establish the definitive cause of death. They reiterated that Habila had been staying in accommodation set aside for staff and associates, not the minister’s private residence, and noted that only Habila and Baaki occupied the building on the night in question.
The legal team called on police to engage qualified forensic pathologists to ascertain the exact cause and circumstances of her death, and asked that the body not be handed over to her family — including her next of kin, Tanko Habila Wisdom of Jaba Local Government Area, Kaduna State — until the autopsy and other investigative procedures are complete.
The lawyers argued that withholding the remains pending forensic findings would help preserve evidence, curb speculation, and ensure that conclusions about the death rest on scientific evidence rather than conjecture.
Police investigations remain ongoing, with the forensic examination expected to play a decisive role in determining the cause of Mary Habila’s death.
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