Umahi speaks on nurse Mary Habila's death and his connection to her

Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has denied claims that he killed the female nurse, Mary Habila, at his Uburu home in Ebonyi State.

Umahi, who used to be the governor of Ebonyi State, made this statement during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

A video of the conference is being shared widely on Facebook.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mary Habila, who worked closely with Umahi, was brought dead to the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital in Uburu, Ebonyi State, on June 27.

Some Nigerians and civil society groups have called for an investigation into her death. A few others have suggested that she might have been killed.

In the press conference, Umahi explained that he could not have killed Habila as they were not living in the same place at the time she died.

“There is a guest house where she and the second medical person stayed, and that is very far from where I stayed.

“But, strangely, an unfortunate thing happened, and speculation is being made that we killed a woman who was giving me an injection, administering drugs to us, and even lived in my residence in Asokoro,” he said.

Umahi made it clear that the 26-year-old was a nurse, not a physiotherapist, as some had reported.

He expressed that Habila was like a daughter to him and that her death felt like a personal loss. He said it would be hard to replace her.

The minister also rejected claims that Habila’s death was unnatural. He said those spreading rumors about the situation do not know her medical history.

“The lady in question was like a daughter to me. She had stayed with me for three years.

Is it that they are saying that somebody cannot die? Have they checked the medical records of the lady?” he asked, suggesting she could have died from natural causes.

He shared that Habila’s boyfriend said she told him she was feeling sick just hours before she died.

“She (Habila) spoke to her boyfriend at the hour of her death, complaining that she was bleeding from the nose. The boyfriend said, ‘No, you have to report to your boss.’ She said it had stopped.

“So, the boyfriend 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, and three minutes later, he called again, but she was not responding.

“Even in the morning, she told the boyfriend she was going to take a bath because she had locked her door. In the morning, when they discovered she wasn’t responding, they broke the door and found that the tap was still running,” he explained.

“I’ve asked the police to check the call log, and they will see the last conversation the girl had with her boyfriend at the time of her death. But I suspect no foul play.”

Umahi emphasized that an autopsy is needed to determine the actual cause of Habila’s death.

“We have insisted through our lawyer that the autopsy should happen. We are begging the parents to allow the autopsy to take place, but they say no because it goes against their culture. So we have a deadlock.

“Only God will resolve it, because we have directed that the body cannot be moved until the autopsy is done,” he stated.

The minister also mentioned that her family would meet with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, regarding the case.

“The matter is ongoing. We’ve reported to the IGP to move the case to Abuja and let them persuade the family to agree to the autopsy. I’m begging the family to meet with the IGP, so maybe he can convince them,” he said.