Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has asked President Bola Tinubu to immediately suspend the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi.

This step, he said, would pave way for an independent investigation into circumstances surrounding how Mary Habila, a 26-year-old physiotherapist died at the Uburu, Ebonyi State residence of the minister on June 27.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC) accused the Tinubu administration of failing “comprehensively and disgracefully” to give Nigerians answers about the circumstances surrounding the death of the female citizen.

Atiku said he followed the reports of Habila’s death “with deep sorrow and mounting concern” and extended condolences to the Habila family of Nok, Southern Kaduna.

He noted that for nearly two weeks after her passing, “neither the minister, nor the police, nor any arm of government said a word to the Nigerian people,” until media reports brought it to public attention.

According to the Ebonyi State Police Command, Habila and a colleague were part of the medical team attached to the Minister of Works and had accompanied him to Uburu, where she died in a room within the compound of his residence.

Police said they received a distress call on June 27 and that Habila was brought in dead to the David Umahi Federal Teaching Hospital, Uburu.

The Minister of Works has said an autopsy should be conducted.

In statements issued by his aide, Francis Nwaze, Umahi said he received the news “with profound shock and sadness” and had advised the family to allow an autopsy to “scientifically establish the exact cause of death,” though the family initially declined.

He later reiterated the call for an autopsy, describing it as “the most credible and responsible path”.

Umahi also said he has initiated legal action against individuals spreading what he called false reports about the incident.

Atiku, however, said three weeks after her death, “no autopsy has been performed. No cause of death has been established,” and criticized that the investigation remains in Ebonyi State “where the Minister served two terms as Governor and where his influence is beyond question.”

He decried what he described as silence from “the Presidency. Silence from the Federal Executive Council. Silence from the Inspector-General of Police. Silence from the National Assembly.”

The ex-VP demanded that President Bola Tinubu direct the Minister of Works to “step aside immediately, pending the conclusion of investigations,” saying this is “the minimum standard of public accountability in any serious democracy.”

While reiterating that the suspension was not a punishment, he maintained that “no official under this cloud should preside over a federal ministry as though it were business as usual”.

He further demanded that the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu “immediately 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,” he stressed.

Atiku also demanded that a full, independent, and internationally credible autopsy be conducted without further delay, with findings made public.

Similarly, the opposition candidate asked that the family of Mary Habila be protected from “any pressure, inducement, or intimidation” and guaranteed access to facts about her death.

Atiku stressed that he was making “no pronouncement on anyone’s guilt or innocence,” but insisted that “only a credible, independent, and transparent investigation can establish the truth.”

The call adds to pressure from civil society and the political opposition.

The African Democratic Congress had earlier demanded an independent investigation and urged Umahi to step aside to guarantee public confidence.

The Ebonyi State Police Command said detectives have visited the scene, obtained statements, and will engage a pathologist for a post-mortem to determine the cause of death.

Atiku said, “The measure of a nation is how it responds when the powerful are touched by tragedy and the powerless demand truth.

“Mary Habila was somebody’s daughter, somebody’s sister… Her death must not be reduced to a footnote of political convenience.” (The Sun)

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