A fresh payroll document exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters has confirmed that the late Mary Habila and her colleague, Anita Baaki, were listed as employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS), Uburu, Ebonyi State, and received salaries through the Federal Government’s Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
The payroll document, obtained amid growing controversy surrounding Habila’s death at the residence of Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, corroborates earlier claims that both women were on the university’s payroll despite being attached to the minister’s office.
The latest revelation comes as questions continue to mount over the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death on June 27 at Umahi’s residence in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, and over allegations concerning the nature of her employment at the university.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported, citing multiple university sources, that Habila was employed as a Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW) and was allegedly placed on the payroll of DUFUHS through the influence of Minister David Umahi, contrary to earlier claims by the minister’s aide that she was a physiotherapist.
A review of the payroll document by SaharaReporters confirmed that both Habila and Baaki were listed as members of staff of the university and were paid through the IPPIS platform.
“Umahi made sure they were both paid through the University and placed on the payroll,” sources familiar with the matter told SaharaReporters.
The payroll document also supports earlier accounts from university sources that Baaki, who was with Habila shortly before her death and later filed a sworn affidavit detailing the events leading to the incident, was likewise employed by DUFUHS.
The record further shows that both women were among 549 members of staff listed without National Housing Fund (NHF) account numbers.
Mary Habila appears as number 508 on the payroll with IPPIS number DU2500148, while Anita is listed as Baaki Anita Mlumun at number 474 with IPPIS number DU250044.
Multiple university sources had earlier told SaharaReporters that Habila was employed as a CHEW rather than as a physiotherapist.
“The lady in question was a CHEW (Community Health Extension Worker) by qualifications and not a physiotherapist. She was drafted into the university payroll by Umahi,” one source had said.
Another source alleged that Habila did not possess the qualifications required to be employed by the university as a physiotherapist.
“The lady was not qualified as a physiotherapist but because of her relationship with Umahi, he found a way,” the source alleged.
According to the sources, before she was placed on the university payroll, Habila spent most of her time at Umahi’s residence in Uburu and allegedly continued to do so even after securing employment at DUFUHS.
“We are not sure of what she did in the house exactly but she was well known in the residence,” one source said.
The revelations came after the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP) publicly refuted claims that Habila was a physiotherapist.
The professional body said it had verified her credentials through the appropriate regulatory channels and found that her name did not appear on the database of registered physiotherapists.
“Following verification through the appropriate regulatory channels, the name ‘Mary Habila,’ as stated, does not appear on the database of registered physiotherapists,” the NSP said.
The society stressed that professional identities should be established through recognised regulatory processes and not assumptions, urging public officials to verify professional claims before making public statements.
The clarification contradicted an earlier statement issued on July 11 by Minister Umahi’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, which stated that Habila and Baaki were physiotherapists employed by DUFUHS and had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works for the past three years.
“It is important to clarify that Miss Mary Habila and Miss Anita Baaki are employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, who had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for the past three years until the unfortunate passing of Miss Habila,” the statement had said.
Baaki later filed a sworn affidavit before the High Court of Ebonyi State, providing what she described as a first-hand account of the events preceding Habila’s death.
In the affidavit sworn at the High Court Registry in Abakaliki on July 15, 2026, Baaki stated that she had worked with Umahi since his days as Governor of Ebonyi State before she was employed by DUFUHS.
She further stated that she and Habila had worked together under the Minister of Works for about three years and had become close friends.
According to Baaki, she, Habila and other members of the minister’s staff travelled from Abuja to Ebonyi on June 24, 2026, days before Habila was found unconscious inside her locked room.
Habila’s death remains the subject of intense public scrutiny and an ongoing police investigation.
The Ebonyi State Police Command has insisted that a forensic autopsy is necessary before her body can be released for burial, acting on legal advice from the Ebonyi State Director of Public Prosecutions, J.U. Chukwu, who said a post-mortem examination would provide crucial forensic evidence in determining the cause of her sudden and unexplained death.
The DPP had noted that available evidence indicated Habila “laid lifeless on the floor of her apartment naked with blood stain on her nose and mouth,” concluding that only an autopsy could establish the true cause of her sudden and unexplained death, although he advised that the police retained the discretion to proceed with the examination or honour the family’s wishes.
The dispute over the autopsy prompted Habila’s family to postpone her burial indefinitely after the police declined to release her body.
Her father, Wisdom Habila, has repeatedly appealed to the authorities to release his daughter’s remains, insisting that the family does not want an autopsy and is not accusing anyone of causing her death.
“I don’t have much to talk about in this case. All that I want is the corpse of my daughter,” he said during a public address.
“We don’t keep the body of a little child for so long like this. That is why I’m here to say once again and for all, I need the corpse of my daughter to take her for burial.”
The family has also formally opposed the autopsy through an affidavit filed before the High Court of Ebonyi State, requesting that Habila’s body be released intact for burial.
Minister Umahi has denied any wrongdoing and maintained that he requested a comprehensive forensic autopsy to establish the cause of Habila’s death, urging the public to allow investigators to conclude their work.
Police investigations into the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death remain ongoing.
