Minister of Works David Umahi has broken his silence on the death of Mary Habila, a staff member who died at a ministry facility, insisting there was no foul play and describing attempts to link him to the incident as “politics taken too far.”
Umahi, who spoke at a press conference in Abuja, said the deceased had worked closely with him for three years and was “like a daughter” to him and his family. “The lady in question was like a daughter to me. She had stayed with me for three years,” he said.
He revealed Habila was a nurse at the Federal University of Health Sciences in Ebonyi State and had a history of medical issues, including nosebleeds, for which he funded treatment in Turkey.
“She has her medical records in Turkish Hospital, being paid by us. The last one was on the 5th of April, and it cost me N2.2 million,” Umahi stated.
The minister narrated what he described as Habila’s final moments, claiming she complained of nosebleeding to her boyfriend shortly before she was found dead in a guest house. He appealed to her family to allow an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
“We have been begging the parents to allow an autopsy to happen… I have directed that the corpse cannot be removed until an autopsy,” he added.
The minister stressed that the guest house where the deceased died was located far from his personal residence, arguing that it was unfair to hold him personally responsible simply because the incident occurred within facilities linked to the ministry.
“What baffles me in this country is that everything becomes an opportunity. There is a guest house where she and other medical personnel stayed, and that is very far from where I stay. Does it mean that because somebody dies in the Ministry of Works, the minister must be accountable for that?” he asked.
Umahi lamented what he described as attempts to exploit the young woman’s death for political purposes.
“People should be careful when they want to use the unfortunate death of a young girl to play politics. If we have a hand in the killing, it will follow our families and us. But if we don’t have a hand in it and you are jumping into it, be careful. Life is spiritual,” he said.
The minister said the deceased had been one of his most dedicated staff members and that her death had left him devastated.
“It is very painful to me that the girl passed on. It is very difficult to replace her. She was one of my best workers,” he said.
Umahi disclosed that efforts by investigators to conduct an autopsy had so far been unsuccessful because the deceased’s family objected on cultural grounds.
He said, “We have been begging the parents to allow an autopsy to happen. They said it is against their culture. But we insisted through our lawyer that an autopsy should happen. I have directed that the corpse cannot be removed until an autopsy.”
The minister added that he had requested the Inspector-General of Police to transfer the investigation to Abuja to ensure a thorough probe and facilitate discussions with the family.
“We have reported to the Inspector-General of Police to transfer the case to Abuja. Let them beg the family to do an autopsy. I am also begging the family to meet with the Inspector-General so that he can convince them,” he said.
Umahi further claimed that the deceased had previously experienced similar episodes of nosebleed while accompanying him on official assignments.
According to him, “The boyfriend also told us that when we were in Lagos, she called him and said she was bleeding from the nose. He advised her to report to me so I could send her back to the hospital, but she didn’t want to stress me. He then told her to find a hospital around and seek treatment.
He urged investigators to retrieve the telephone records between the deceased and her boyfriend.
“I have asked the police to go to the call logs. They should go to the call log of the boy and the call log of the girl, and they will hear the last conversation the girl had with the boyfriend at the hour of her death,” he said.
While maintaining that the investigation should run its full course, Umahi said he had seen no evidence suggesting criminal activity.
“I suspect no foul play because the other lady who stayed with her was sleeping in the same bed. Her room was still locked, and the door had to be broken before they discovered the body. The tap was still running because I think she was going to bathe,” he stated.
The minister also criticised the circulation of photographs allegedly taken at the mortuary, accusing some police officers of leaking misleading information.
He said, “When they took her to the mortuary, that was where the police took the picture. They did not dress her up in the mortuary before taking the picture and sending out damaging information.”
Umahi vowed to pursue legal action against media organisations he accused of spreading false information and cyberbullying the deceased.
“I have directed my lawyers to get across to those involved in cyberbullying this matter. We are going to test the law on that,” he added.
