Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu to direct Works Minister, Senator David Umahi to step aside from office pending investigation into the death of 26-year-old Mary Habiila, who died inside the Minister’s private residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State, on June 27.
In a statement posted on his X handle on Thursday, Atiku said the Tinubu administration had failed Nigerians by allowing weeks to pass without an autopsy, a credible investigation, or any public comment from the Presidency, the police, or National Assembly.
He noted that it was investigative reporting by Sahara Reporters, not any arm of government, that first brought the death to public attention, and that the probe remains under the Ebonyi Police Command, the same state Umahi served two terms as governor.
While noting that only an independent inquiry could establish the truth, Atiku submitted that the government’s refusal to guarantee such an inquiry, not any presumption of guilt, was itself the scandal.
He demanded that the Inspector-general of Police transfer the case to Force Headquarters with independent forensic experts involved, that a full autopsy be conducted and its findings made public, and that Habila’s family be shielded from pressure or intimidation as they seek answers.
Habila, a Physiotherapist from Nok in Southern Kaduna, died on June 27, a day after she and another woman, Anita Baski, both reportedly from Kaduna State, arrived at Umahi’s country home in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The case was reportedly first handled by the Ohaozara Divisional Police Headquarters before being transferred to the Ebonyi State Criminal Investigation Department in Abakaliki.
Sahara Reporters, who’s reporting first drew attention to the case, has reported several disputed and disturbing details.
Umahi has publicly confirmed that Habila died at his residence. He explained that she and Baski were Physiotherapists who had been seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works from the David Umahi Federal University of Sciences for the past three years.
The Minister has since directed that an autopsy be carried out to determine the exact cause of death and said he had personally received Habila’s parents and initially recommended an autopsy, which he said the family declined at the time.
However, police sources have disputed the Minister’s account, telling Sahara Reporters that investigators do not believe the two women were actually University employees as claimed.
Habila’s family ultimately decided against an autopsy. Her father, Baba Habila, reportedly declined to comment on the circumstances of her death while receiving her body at a morgue in Abakaliki ahead of her burial in Nok, Kaduna State, with community leaders reportedly confirming the family and their lawyer had opted to proceed with burial without a postmortem.
