Akakan Umoh
Former Nigerian Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has called for an independent investigation into the death of Mary Habila from Kaduna State.
Habila, 26, reportedly died on June 27, 2026, at the private residence of the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, in Uburu, Ebonyi State.
In a post on his X handle on Thursday, Atiku, the presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), said he followed the development “with deep sorrow and mounting concern” and extended condolences to the Habila family.
“No family should have to mourn a daughter taken in the prime of her life while also fighting simply to learn the truth of how she died,” he said.
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“But condolences are not enough. Nigerians deserve answers, and it is on this score that the Tinubu administration has failed, comprehensively and disgracefully.”
But, Umahi dismissed allegations linking him to the incident, describing attempts to politicise the young woman’s death as unfair and misleading, saying Habila had lived with his family for three years and served as a nurse attached to his residence and guest house.
The former Vice President noted that a young woman died in the home of a serving Federal Minister and for nearly two weeks no government official spoke about it.
“Three weeks after her death, no autopsy has been performed. No cause of death has been established. The investigation remains domiciled in the very state where the Minister served two terms as Governor and where his influence is beyond question,” he said.
Atiku accused the Presidency, the Federal Executive Council, the Inspector-General of Police and the National Assembly of maintaining “silence” on the matter.
“Instead, the Minister has been permitted to manage the narrative of a death that occurred under his own roof: issuing statements through his personal aides, deploying his private lawyers to correspond with the police, and continuing his official duties as though nothing has happened,” he added.
He said he was not making any pronouncement on guilt or innocence, but insisted that only a credible, independent and transparent investigation can establish the truth.
“A government’s first duty is the protection of life. Where a life is lost in circumstances touching a high official of state, the burden on government to act transparently is at its heaviest,” Atiku stated. “President Tinubu’s administration has instead treated this tragedy as an inconvenience to be waited out.”
The ADC candidate therefore demanded that President Bola Tinubu should direct Senator Umahi to step aside immediately pending the conclusion of investigations. “This is not a punishment; it is the minimum standard of public accountability in any serious democracy.”
He also requested that the Inspector-General of Police should transfer the investigation from the Ebonyi State Command to Force Headquarters with the involvement of independent forensic experts.
“No investigation conducted in the shadow of the Minister’s home-state influence can command public confidence.”
Atiku also said that a full, independent and internationally credible autopsy should be conducted without further delay, with findings made public.
He added that the Habila family must be protected from pressure, inducement or intimidation and guaranteed unfettered access to facts about their daughter’s death.
“The measure of a nation is how it responds when the powerful are touched by tragedy and the powerless demand truth,” Atiku said.
“Mary Habila was somebody’s daughter, somebody’s sister, a young professional with her life ahead of her. She was a Nigerian. Her death must not be reduced to a footnote of political convenience.
“Nigeria will work again, but only when the life of every Nigerian counts, and when no one, however highly placed, stands beyond the reach of accountability.
“May the soul of Mary Habila rest in peace. May her family find justice.”
Habila not our member, says Physiotherapy Society
The Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy on Thursday said the name “Mary Habila” does not appear on its register of licensed physiotherapists, amid ongoing public attention over the death of the health worker.
This followed David Umahi’s earlier statement that Mary Habila was a physiotherapist issued on July 13, 2026, by his media aide, Francis Nwaze, confirmed she was employed as a physiotherapist.
However, on July 16, 2026, Umahi retracted this claim, clarifying that she was actually a nurse.
The Ebonyi State Police Command has insisted on conducting a post-mortem examination into the death of Miss Habila.
But, the family of Mary Habila, had explained why they rejected a post-mortem examination on the deceased.
Tanko Habila, the father of the deceased, deposed to an affidavit at the Ebonyi State High Court on 13 July.
In the affidavit, Mr Habila stated that although Mr Umahi requested an autopsy on his late daughter’s body, the family does not consent to it.
Yet, the family had fixed burial of the deceased for July 17, 2026.
