...As minister urges police to delay burial until investigation is completed

Fresh details have emerged on the death of Mary Habila, a nurse attached to the David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences (DUFUS) and on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works, as a colleague recounted her final moments before her death.

Anita Baaki, a physiotherapist from Benue State, said in a sworn affidavit before the Ebonyi State High Court that she travelled with Habila and other ministry staff from Abuja to Ebonyi State on June 24, 2026, for official duties under the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi.

According to the affidavit, the staff members were accommodated in separate but adjoining rooms in a staff chalet within the minister’s country home in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area. Baaki stated that the building was designated for staff members and associates and was not the minister’s personal residence.

She said Habila visited her room on the evening of June 26 after having her hair done.

“Mary told me she was tired and wanted to take a shower before sleeping. That was the last time I saw her alive,” Baaki said.

She stated that the following morning she became worried when Habila did not come out as usual. After repeated phone calls went unanswered, she knocked on Habila’s door but received no response.

Baaki said she alerted a domestic staff member to search the premises, and when Habila could not be found elsewhere, other staff members were informed. The room was then forced open, and Habila was found lying unconscious near the door.

According to the affidavit, she was rushed to the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital, where doctors confirmed that she was dead on arrival.

Baaki stated that she made the affidavit voluntarily and without coercion for official and investigative purposes.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing Umahi have written to the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police requesting a comprehensive forensic autopsy before Habila’s body is released for burial.

In the letter, the legal team said the request was aimed at ensuring transparency, preserving the integrity of the investigation and establishing the actual cause of death.

The lawyers reiterated that Habila was staying in accommodation reserved for staff members and associates rather than the minister’s personal residence, adding that only Habila and Baaki occupied the building on the night of the incident.

They urged the police to engage qualified forensic pathologists to determine the precise cause and circumstances of the death and requested that Habila’s remains should not be released to her family, including her next of kin, Tanko Habila Wisdom of Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, until the autopsy and other investigative procedures had been concluded.

According to the lawyers, withholding the release of the body pending forensic examination would preserve evidence, reduce speculation and ensure that findings on the death are based on scientific evidence.

Police investigations into the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death are continuing.