The family of Mary Habila, a physiotherapist who died inside the private residence of Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said it wants to bury her. But police investigators say they are not ready to let that happen. They insist an autopsy must be done first. This tug-of-war, between a grieving family and investigators trying to protect evidence, is now at the centre of one of the most talked-about stories in Nigeria this week.
What Happened: A Physiotherapist’s Death Inside a Minister’s Home
Mary Habila and a colleague, Anita Baski, arrived at Umahi’s residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State, on June 26, 2026. They had reportedly travelled from Kaduna State. By the next morning, Habila was found dead inside the residence. The exact cause is still unknown.
Umahi’s office said Habila and Baski were staff of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for the past three years. But police sources say they doubt this account. They allege the two women were actually brought to Uburu specifically to attend to the minister.
There are also disturbing claims that Habila’s body was found unclothed when it was removed from the residence, and that Umahi had already left the residence by the time the situation was handled. These details remain allegations from sources close to the investigation and have not been confirmed by an official police statement.
Why the Family and Investigators Are at Odds
After Habila’s death was confirmed, Umahi’s office says he personally met her parents, offered condolences, and asked for an autopsy to establish the true cause of death. The family reportedly declined at first. Days later, as public pressure grew, the minister renewed his call for an autopsy, this time more firmly.
But there is another side to this. Police sources say lawyers acting for the minister later asked investigators to release Habila’s body so it could be buried in Ebonyi State. Investigators refused, saying the case is still under active investigation and the body cannot be released before forensic work is done. Some sources also allege that members of Habila’s family are being pressured not to insist on an autopsy, though this has not been independently verified.
Has This Happened Before? Nigeria’s Pattern of Unanswered Deaths Involving the Powerful
Nigeria has seen this story play out before in different forms: a private, unexplained death connected to someone powerful, followed by public pressure for an autopsy, and long delays before any real answers come. In many past cases, by the time the pressure eases, the family has often been persuaded, sometimes quietly, to bury their loved one without a conclusive independent finding, and the matter fades from the news cycle without resolution.
This pattern is part of why Habila’s case has struck such a nerve. Advocacy groups, including the Nigerian Women International Alliance, have already written to President Bola Tinubu, asking for an independent and transparent probe. They have stressed they are not accusing anyone of wrongdoing, only asking that the investigation be allowed to run its course without interference, and that forensic evidence, including any autopsy report, be properly preserved.
Why This Matters: The Bigger Questions at Stake
- Public office and private homes: Two government-linked physiotherapists were reportedly staying inside a sitting minister’s private residence. Questions remain about who approved this arrangement, and under what official rules.
- Power and access to evidence: When someone dies inside the home of a powerful person, that same person’s associates are often best placed to control what evidence survives and what story gets told first. This is exactly why independent investigators, not friends or aides of the powerful, need full access.
- Family pressure versus public interest: Grieving families are often the easiest people to persuade quietly, especially when they are already overwhelmed by grief and unfamiliar with their legal rights. Investigators trying to protect evidence for the public interest can find themselves at odds with a tired, grieving family who just want closure.
- Trust in institutions: Nigerians have grown used to high-profile cases involving the powerful losing momentum before answers are found. This erodes public trust in the police and the wider justice system.
Possible Solutions: How This Case, and Others Like It, Should Be Handled
- An independent, transparent investigation: The probe should be free of any interference, including from the minister’s office, and its findings should eventually be made public.
- A proper, unpressured autopsy: Forensic examination should go ahead with full family consent, ideally with a pathologist the family also trusts, so the result carries public confidence.
- Protection for the family and witnesses: Habila’s parents and anyone providing information should be shielded from pressure or intimidation from any side.
- Clear rules on secondment and residency: If public-sector health workers are ever assigned to serve inside a government official’s private residence, this should follow documented, transparent rules, not informal arrangements.
- Timely public updates: Investigators should give periodic updates on the case, even brief ones, so the story does not simply fade into silence the way many past cases have.
My Take
What stands out to me most is not any single allegation, but the pattern. A young woman travels far from home for a job, and days later she is dead under circumstances nobody has fully explained. Her grieving family is caught between wanting to bury their daughter in peace and needing to know the truth about how she died. Meanwhile, the very autopsy that could establish the truth has become a bargaining point.
I don’t think it is fair, at this stage, to declare anyone guilty of anything. The minister is entitled to the same presumption of innocence as any other Nigerian. But that is exactly why the autopsy matters so much: it protects everyone, including him, by replacing suspicion with facts. What Nigeria owes Mary Habila’s family, and honestly owes itself, is a full, independent investigation that is allowed to finish its work before anyone is buried, or before anyone is blamed.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
