Minister of Works, David Umahi, has publicly addressed the death of Miss Mary Habila for the first time, dismissing allegations linking him to the incident and insisting there was no indication of foul play in the circumstances surrounding her demise.
Speaking on Thursday during a press briefing in Abuja, where he also announced newly approved infrastructure projects by President Bola Tinubu, the minister described the late nurse as someone who had become part of his family after working closely with him for about three years.
According to Umahi, reports suggesting he was connected to her death were unfounded and amounted to attempts to politicise a tragic incident.
“My lawyers have spoken on my behalf. But one piece of information I want to correct is that the lady in question was like a daughter to me. She had stayed with me for three years. She was a staff member of the Federal Medical University. She was a nurse and not a physiotherapist. And her family and my family are like one family,” he said.
The minister also clarified that the deceased was employed as a nurse at the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ebonyi State, contrary to reports that identified her as a physiotherapist.
Giving further details, Umahi disclosed that Habila had battled health challenges before her death and had been receiving treatment at a Turkish hospital, with the medical expenses reportedly borne by him.
“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. The records are there. I paid N2.2 million,” he stated.
Narrating what he described as the deceased’s final moments, the minister said Habila had been on a telephone call with her boyfriend shortly before she died and reportedly complained of bleeding from her nose.
“She spoke to her boyfriend at the hour of her death and complained that she was bleeding from the nose. The boyfriend said, ‘No, you have to report it.’ She said it had stopped. The boyfriend then said, ‘Listen, I will not continue this conversation since you are bleeding. It will increase the bleeding.’
“She told the boyfriend, ‘Don’t cut the call.’ The boyfriend cut the call. Three minutes later, the boyfriend called again. She was not responding.”
Umahi further explained that the deceased had informed her boyfriend that she intended to take a bath before communication suddenly ceased.
“Even in the morning, she told her boyfriend she was going to bathe because she had locked her door. When they discovered something was wrong, they broke down the door and discovered her dead. The tap was still running,” Umahi said.
He stressed that the guest house where Habila died was separate from his personal residence and questioned attempts to hold him personally responsible simply because the facility belonged to the Ministry of Works.
“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.
The minister expressed concern over what he described as efforts 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.
Umahi described the deceased as one of his most dependable staff members, saying her passing had created a huge vacuum.
“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.
The minister also revealed that investigators had been unable to conduct an autopsy because the deceased’s family had objected on cultural grounds. He, however, insisted that determining the exact cause of death through a post-mortem examination was essential.
“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,” he stated.
Umahi disclosed that he had requested the Inspector-General of Police to transfer the investigation to Abuja to ensure a thorough inquiry and facilitate discussions with the deceased’s 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.
He further claimed that the deceased had experienced similar episodes of nosebleeding during previous official trips.
“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,” Umahi said.
The minister urged investigators to retrieve telephone records between Habila and her boyfriend, saying the conversation could provide useful insight into her final moments.
“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.
Maintaining that investigations should continue without interference, Umahi reiterated that he had seen nothing to suggest 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.
He also criticised the circulation of photographs allegedly taken after the body was taken to the mortuary, accusing some police personnel of leaking images that fuelled public speculation.
“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,” he said.
The minister added that he had instructed his legal team to pursue those responsible for what he described as misinformation and cyberbullying arising from the case.
“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.
The death of Mary Habila has attracted widespread public attention following reports that she died at a government guest house associated with the Ministry of Works. While police investigations are continuing, an autopsy—considered crucial to determining the exact cause of death—has yet to be conducted due to objections reportedly raised by members of her family.
