Uburu cultural cleansing not due to incident, monarch clarifies

Police authorities in Abuja have reportedly taken over the investigation into the controversial death of Mary Habila, the young woman who died in the residence of the Minister of Works, David Umahi, amid growing public scrutiny over the case.

Sources familiar with the development said a police signal had been sent to the Ebonyi State Police Command directing officers in Abakaliki to hand over the investigation to authorities in Abuja.

The sources further disclosed that Habila’s body is expected to be moved to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as part of the takeover, where a forensic autopsy is likely to be conducted.

According to multiple sources, the minister became dissatisfied with the handling of the investigation by the Ebonyi State Police Command, particularly after details of the case began to emerge in the public domain.

Following growing public scrutiny and the suspension of Habila’s planned burial, Umahi allegedly approached senior police authorities in Abuja, requesting that the investigation be taken over from the Ebonyi State Police Command and that Habila’s body be moved to Abuja for a forensic autopsy.

Sources alleged that attempts to quietly manage the incident were frustrated after police officers and hospital officials reportedly declined to suppress information relating to the case.

The matter attracted wider public attention after photographs allegedly showing Habila with blood around her mouth and nose surfaced online, prompting calls for an independent investigation.

MEANWHILE, the traditional ruler of Enu-Uburu Autonomous Community, His Royal Highness, Eze Godwin Okoro Akpandu, De Ibom Eze II, yesterday, said that Uburu cultural cleansing known as Isu Arua was not due to the death of Mary Habila, but for the cleansing of the land, which, according to him, has been taken by evil doers.

It was reported in some sections of the media that the Isu Arua performed in Ekeaja Uburu Ohaozara Local Council of the state was done because of the death of Mary Habila.

Addressing journalists on behalf of the people of Uburu, Etiti Uburu, Enu-Uburu and Nweze Uburu communities in his Palace at Enu-Uburu, Igwe Akpandu said that Isu Arua has been an age-long cultural heritage since the days of their forefathers, adding that it is used to invoke ancient customs and ancestral sanctions against criminal activities, including theft, vandalism, ritual killings, kidnapping and other forms of crime.

He noted that all four communities that make up Uburu participated in the ritual, describing the exercise as a collective effort to restore peace, morality and security in the area.