•She’s like a daughter to me, I am mourning —Umahi
Controversies have continued to trail the mystery that surrounds the death of a member of the medical team attached to the Minister of Works, Mary Habila.
The Ebonyi Police Command, in its findings, revealed that the deceased, who was accompanied to her hometown in Uburu by another member of the medical team (name withheld), died in a room within the compound of his residence.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Joshua Ukandu, while confirming her death, said she was brought in dead (BID) to the David Umahi Federal Teaching Hospital, Uburu.
However, in order to unravel the mystery surrounding her death the police authorities have concluded plan to engage a pathologist to conduct a post-mortem examination on her corpse.
‘Even though the family of the deceased has opposed the plan, the police authorities consider the examination necessary given the sensitive nature of the case.’
The father of the deceased, Mr Tanko Habila Wisdom, had, in an affidavit of withdrawal filed before Ebonyi High Court prayed for the release of the corpse for burial.
The family, as stated in the affidavit, insisted on burying her corpse rather than carrying out post-mortem examination as insisted by the minister, David Umahi.
The affidavit, which was sworn into by the father of the deceased, read in part, ‘That it is my family’s wish and humble appeal against medical and investigation protocols to leave her body and organs intact.’
However, the family’s decision did not go down well with interest groups across the country who are demanding a probe into the circumstances surrounding her death.
The 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, in a post on his X handle, expressed concern over the delay in conducting post mortem examination on the corpse of the deceased.
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 he served two terms as government and where his influence is beyond question.
Instead, the minister has been permitted to manage the narrative of a death that occurred under his roof, issuing statement through his personal aide, deploying his lawyers to correspond with the police and continuing his official duties as though nothing has happened.
However, Umahi, after a long silence, has insisted that he suspected no foul play and described attempts to link him to the incident as “politics taken too far”.
He disclosed that the deceased complained of bleeding from her nose during a phone conversation with her boyfriend shortly before she was found dead.
He made this known at a press conference in Abuja to update the public on newly approved projects by President Bola Tinubu.
Providing his first detailed account of the incident, Umahi said the deceased had been living and working with him for about three years and enjoyed a close relationship with his family.
He also appealed to the deceased’s family to permit an autopsy to establish the exact cause of death, revealing that he had directed that the body should not be released for burial until the procedure was conducted.
He said, “My lawyers have spoken on my behalf. But one piece of information I want to correct is that the lady in question was like a daughter to me. She had stayed with me for three years. She was a staff member of the Federal Medical University. She was a nurse and not a physiotherapist. And her family and my family are like one family.”
The minister disclosed that the deceased had been receiving treatment at a Turkish hospital before her death, with medical bills paid by him.
According to him, “She has her medical records in Turkish Hospital, being paid by us. The last one was on the 5th of April, and it cost me N2.2 million. The records are there. I paid N2.2 million.”
“She spoke to her boyfriend at the hour of her death and complained that she was bleeding from the nose. The boyfriend said, ‘No, you have to report it.’ She said it had stopped. The boyfriend then said, ‘Listen, I will not continue this conversation since you are bleeding. It will increase the bleeding.’
“She told the boyfriend, ‘Don’t cut the call.’ The boyfriend cut the call. Three minutes later, the boyfriend called again. She was not responding.”
“Even in the morning, she told her boyfriend she was going to bathe because she had locked her door. When they discovered something was wrong, they broke down the door and discovered her dead. The tap was still running,” Umahi said.
The minister stressed that the guest house where the deceased died was located far from his personal residence, arguing that it was unfair to hold him personally responsible simply because the incident occurred within facilities linked to the ministry.
“What baffles me in this country is that everything becomes an opportunity. There is a guest house where she and other medical personnel stayed, and that is very far from where I stay. Does it mean that because somebody dies in the Ministry of Works, the minister must be accountable for that?”
Also, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and the National Association of University Students (NAUS) have called for a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.
The plea was contained in a joint statement signed by NANS Senate President, Iheabuchi Onyia and NAUS president, Meshach Neankwo.
In the same vein, the Southern Kaduna Youths and Students Forum has rejected any attempt to sweep the matter under the carpet.
‘The life of every citizen matters. Justice cannot be selective and the truth must never be sacrificed because of the position, influence or personality of anyone involved.
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has recommended that President Bola Tinubu should order Umahi to step down for a while to give room for a comprehensive inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Habila
The National Publicity Secretary of the Forum, Luka Biniyat, said, ‘We the Middle Belt are out to sponsor private investigators to do a thorough job in this regard. She belongs to the community, not just a personal product of her father. We want a corona inquest in this situation
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