Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has broken his silence over the controversial death of Mary Habila, describing the late health worker as “like a daughter” to him and dismissing suggestions that her death should be politicised.
Speaking in comments shared by ARISE News on Friday, Umahi said Habila had lived with him for three years and was a staff member of the David Umahi Federal Teaching Hospital, Uburu.
“Mary Habila was like a daughter to me. She stayed with me for three years. She was a staff member of the David Umahi Federal Teaching Hospital, Uburu. She was a nurse, not a physiotherapist, and her family and my family are like one,” the minister said.
He disclosed that Habila had been receiving treatment at the Turkish Hospital and that he had paid her latest medical bill of about ₦2.2 million.
According to Umahi, Habila spoke with her boyfriend shortly before her death and complained of bleeding from her nose.
“Habila had been receiving treatment at Turkish Hospital, with her latest medical bill amounting to about N2.2 million, which I paid. She called her boyfriend at the hour of her death and complained that she was bleeding from the nose. He advised her to report it, but she said she didn’t want to disturb me. Three minutes after he ended the call and tried calling back, she was no longer responding,” he said.
Expressing grief over the incident, the minister added: “It is very painful to me that the girl passed on. Everything has become politics in this country. People should be careful when they use the unfortunate death of a young girl to play politics.”
Umahi’s remarks come amid growing public scrutiny over the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death, with many Nigerians demanding an independent investigation and transparent autopsy.
His clarification that Habila was a nurse, and not a physiotherapist, also drew attention after earlier descriptions of her profession sparked public debate.
Several social media users questioned aspects of the minister’s account and called for a thorough investigation.
Reacting, @RealOkeyAgu wrote: “You go explain taya! It was you who said she was a second-degree physiotherapist; now you changed the narrative that she was a nurse after the Physiotherapy Society said she was never one of their registered member. You are yet to tell Nigerians what happened to Mary.”
Another user, @Ekene997, asked: “She died in your presence, why was the diagnosis, and why are you doing so many explanations?”
@EvelynN60589 raised several questions about the handling of the case, stating: “Unnatural death is a police case. Who removed the body from the residence? Who discovered the body? Did the forensics investigate the room, and is her room treated as a crime scene? Has every one interviewed? Was the autopsy conducted by a credible body? How long before the police came?”
Similarly, @ikem_son questioned the minister’s account of Habila’s final phone conversation. “If the door was locked, how did Umahi know that she called her boyfriend? How did Umahi get to know what their conversation was? All of these questions need answers.”
@RaphaelEnim002 said: “All this explanation for what? Let the autopsy be done transparently first, then we will talk about how she is like a daughter to you.”
Another user, @paulamobi, criticised the minister’s remarks, writing: “It is deeply tone-deaf for Minister Umahi to complain about ‘politics’ while weaponising a tragic death to defend his own image. Using a deceased young woman’s passing to deflect from public scrutiny is the exact kind of exploitation he claims to condemn.”
