Mary Habila’s mystery death: Ebonyi ministry of justice insists on autopsy, says she was hale and hearty when she arrive at Umahi’s house

By Kingston Magare 18.7.2026
The mystery surrounding the death of Mary Habila in the country home of Nigeria’s minister of works David Umahi has taken a new twist.
Habila was found unresponsive in Umahi’s compound in Uburu, Ebonyi on June 27 and Mr. Umahi claimed that she had some underlaying illness and was bleeding from the nose the night she died.
However, the Ebonyi ministry of justice disputed Umahi’s submission saying Habila was hale and hearty when she arrived at Umahi’s home on June 26 and from evidence she was not suffering any illness before her death. Mr. Umahi had claimed that Habila was physiotherapist and later a nurse seconded to his home from the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, and had been living his house for quite some time.
“There was no evidence that the deceased was sick or unstable health-wise prior to her sudden death, as she was full of life at the time she returned to Uburu in the company of her team,” the Ebonyi ministry of justice said in a legal advice to the deputy commissioner of police and criminal investigation department, it was dated July 15, 2026, and was signed by director of public prosecutions, J.U. Chukwu.
“From the foregoing, the question that would readily come to mind is what exactly caused the deceased’s sudden death? This curiosity under the law can only be resolved through a post-mortem examination, so as to provide a clue to the police as to the direction of their investigation
“It is therefore the view of this office that the police invoke their discretionary power to either respect the request of the deceased’s family or proceed with the post-mortem examination.”
However, Habila’s father through the family lawyer, K.A. Yusuf said he does not want any pathological examination of his daughter corpse based on cultural and personal reasons. According to the Punch reports, the family submitted a petition to the inspector general of police Tunji Disu, on Friday.
“The prolonged withholding of our client’s daughter’s remains has caused our client and his family immense emotional, psychological, financial and cultural hardship,” Yusuf stated in his petition.
But investigation by the police is still on-going because of the public interest in the death of Habila who was found naked at time of death. Police sources hinted that several persons have been invited and have made statements.
Commenting on the case, human rights activist and lawyer Liborous Oshoma said according to the law, Haliba’s death was suspicious and it is considered a crime against the society. “Once the police open a criminal file, the family loses the right to halt the investigation.
“The government has a legal obligation to investigate any suspicious death under the Corona’s System Laws of Nigerian States… Ebonyi inclusive.”