Nearly a month after 26-year-old health worker, Mary Habila, died at the Uburu residence of the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, conflicting accounts, an unresolved police investigation, questions over an autopsy, and a family still waiting to bury their daughter have deepened public scrutiny. Weekend Trust deconstructs the events and examines the questions that continue to fuel public interest.

The death of Mary Habila was initially reported as another tragic loss of a young Nigerian professional. But as the days stretched into weeks, the circumstances surrounding her death transformed what might have been an isolated incident into a national conversation about accountability, transparency, and the search for truth.

Nearly a month after the 26-year-old community health worker died inside the staff quarters at the country home of the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, fundamental questions remain unanswered. Investigators are yet to establish the cause of her death publicly. Her body has not been released for burial. The proposed autopsy has become the subject of disagreement. Even details as basic as her employment status have generated conflicting accounts.

At the heart of the controversy is not merely how Mary died, but why the circumstances surrounding her death continue to raise questions despite assurances from authorities that investigations are ongoing.

A journey that ended in tragedy

Available accounts indicate that Mary travelled from Abuja to Ebonyi State on June 26, as part of the entourage attached to the Minister of Works ahead of official and community engagements in his hometown of Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area.

According to colleagues and residents familiar with her work, it was a routine trip.

Those who interacted with her that day told Weekend Trust she appeared cheerful, healthy and busy preparing for activities lined up for the Minister’s visit. Nothing, they recalled, suggested that within 24 hours she would be dead.

One staff member who met her shortly after arriving in Uburu recalled exchanging pleasantries with her on June 26.

“It appeared they were preparing for an event or meeting because Mary was busy arranging things with other domestic staff of the Minister. I was shocked to hear the unfortunate news the following day,” the source said.

A close friend and colleague, Anita Baaki, had earlier given a similar account of Mary’s final hours. She said Mary stopped by her room to show off her new hairstyle before they chatted briefly.

“Mary told me she was tired and wanted to take a shower before going to bed. That was the last time I saw her alive,” she recalled.

The accounts of colleagues who said Mary showed no sign of illness, however, appear at variance with the account later given by the Minister of Works during a press conference in Abuja on July 16.

Addressing journalists, Senator Umahi said Mary had complained of a nosebleed during a telephone conversation with her boyfriend shortly before she was found dead.

Narrating what he described as her final moments, the minister said Mary initially told her boyfriend she had developed a nosebleed but later informed him that the bleeding had stopped. According to him, the boyfriend advised her to seek medical attention before ending the call.

“Three minutes later, the boyfriend called back, but she was no longer responding,” Umahi said, adding that she had earlier told him (boyfriend) she intended to take a bath.

Police later confirmed that Mary died on June 27 after she was taken to the David Umahi Federal Teaching Hospital, Uburu, where she was certified dead on arrival. The Ebonyi State Police Command subsequently transferred the matter to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.

But beyond that official timeline, questions began to arise.

Perhaps the first was why news of the incident did not enter the public domain until July 11, almost two weeks after her death, when Sahara Reporters first reported the story, triggering widespread public attention and scrutiny.

Who was Mary Habila?

Those who knew Mary describe a young woman whose professional life had become closely associated with the office of the Minister of Works.

According to sources within the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, she was among the institution’s pioneer employees, having joined shortly after the university was commissioned in 2022. She was said to have been seconded, alongside another staff member, Anita Baaki, to work with the Federal Ministry of Works, where both served as physiotherapists/nurses attached to the Minister for about three years.

Her responsibilities, according to staff members and community leaders, went beyond personal clinical duties to the Minister.

Whenever the Minister hosted empowerment programmes or community gatherings in Uburu, Mary was usually part of the medical team responsible for providing first aid and responding to emergencies. Residents said she also assisted in coordinating aspects of the outreach activities and had become a familiar face within the community because of her regular presence during such events.

Several people interviewed by Weekend Trust in Uburu said they regarded her as one of their own.

“Mary was always on hand, offering medical services,” recalled Chief Nicholas Odi, President General of Eweze Uburu Autonomous Community, who said many residents had assumed she was an indigene because of how frequently she accompanied the minister to community programmes.

Remembered for different reasons

A shop owner near the Minister’s residence said she never passed without greeting people, while another resident, Mrs. Ekwe Millicent, who had styled Mary’s hair earlier this year, described her as trusting enough to hand over her ATM card and PIN to enable the purchase of additional hair attachments needed to complete the hairstyle.

To neighbours in Uburu, these were simple acts that reflected a calm, approachable personality.

To her family hundreds of kilometres away in Kaduna State, she was a daughter whose promising future had been cut short.

A video that reignited public interest

Earlier this week, as public attention on the case intensified, a video reportedly recorded by Mary Habila in June 2024 resurfaced across social media platforms, adding an eerie dimension to the circumstances surrounding her death.

In the video, Mary dismissed rumours circulating at the time that she had died, assuring those who knew her that she was alive and well.

Two years later, in June 2026, she died under circumstances that remain the subject of an ongoing police investigation.

The coincidence quickly became one of the most widely discussed aspects of the case online, with many users describing it as haunting. While the video has no known connection to the events surrounding her death, its resurfacing has amplified public interest in the case and renewed calls for a transparent investigation.

The accommodation question

As investigators worked to establish what happened inside the minister’s compound, another issue emerged: where exactly was Mary based?

Multiple sources told Weekend Trust that although the university maintains staff quarters for its employees, Mary and her colleague rarely stayed there because they had been attached to the Minister’s office.

Instead, they reportedly lived inside the Minister’s residential compound in Uburu whenever official assignments brought them to Ebonyi State.

Other workers, including electricians, cleaners and domestic staff, were also said to reside within the expansive compound, according to persons familiar with the arrangement.

Residents explained that the arrangement was not unusual. Because the university is relatively new and accommodation remains limited, they said the minister had made portions of his property available to some university personnel.

Community leaders insisted the accommodation arrangement predated Mary’s death and should not, in itself, be interpreted as evidence of wrongdoing.

Yet it is precisely this proximity to the minister’s residence that has intensified public interest in the circumstances surrounding her death.

As official statements emerged, inconsistencies also surfaced.

On July 11, the Minister’s spokesman, Francis Nwaze, publicly identified Mary and Anita Baaki as employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences who had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for three years.

However, when Weekend Trust sought clarification from the university itself, the response introduced a fresh layer of uncertainty.

The institution’s Head of Public Relations, Mrs Daphne Eteng Nnenna, said she was unaware of any employee by that name and directed enquiries to the registrar’s office. When the newspaper visited the registrar’s office, officials declined to comment, maintaining that the incident did not occur within the university and referred enquiries instead to the minister’s residence.

The differing accounts did not establish that Mary was not employed by the institution. But they did leave unanswered; why a university whose employee had been publicly identified in connection with a nationally discussed incident appeared unable or unwilling to immediately confirm basic information about her employment.

For many observers, it became one more unanswered question in a case already surrounded by uncertainty.

And it would not be the last.

If questions over Mary’s employment raised eyebrows, the investigation into her death has generated even deeper concerns.

Nearly a month after the incident, investigators were still trying to establish precisely what caused the young woman’s death. The uncertainty has been compounded by disagreements over whether an autopsy should be conducted, where the investigation should be handled and when, if at all, her remains would be released to her family for burial.

For Mary’s relatives, every passing day has prolonged not only their grief but also their wait for closure.

A family caught between grief and uncertainty

More than 600 kilometres away from Uburu, the Habila family home in Nok, Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, bears little resemblance to the bustling community known internationally for the ancient Nok Terracotta civilisation.

Instead, an unusual quiet has settled over the family compound.

When Weekend Trust visited, neighbours continued to stream in with words of comfort while family members struggled to come to terms with a tragedy they say has left them with more questions than answers.

Mary’s father, Habila Wisdom, had travelled to Abuja in connection with developments surrounding the case, leaving his younger brothers, Joshua Jock and Zachariah Jock, to receive visitors when a Weekend Trust correspondent visited.

Their message was simple. “We only want to lay her to rest.”

Joshua recalled receiving an urgent telephone call from his elder brother informing him that something had gone wrong.

He immediately travelled to Abuja before proceeding to Ebonyi.

“The following day, my brother informed us that Mary had passed away,” he said.

He described the loss as devastating but said his elder brother, a pastor with the Deeper Life Bible Church, had accepted the tragedy through faith.

“My brother believes that since an autopsy cannot bring his daughter back to life, he does not see any need to insist on it,” Joshua said.

The family’s principal concern, he explained, is no longer the debate over forensic procedures but the continued retention of Mary’s remains.

According to him, the delay has conflicted with both their religious convictions and cultural expectations surrounding burial.

A meeting with the Minister

The family says it has not completely shut the door on engagement with those involved.

Another uncle of the deceased, Zachariah Jock, disclosed that family representatives met the minister of works after the incident.

According to him, Senator Umahi explained his own account of events and indicated that an autopsy could be conducted if the family considered it necessary.

“He narrated his own side of what happened and told us that if we were not satisfied, an autopsy could be carried out to clear the air,” Zachariah said.

He declined to elaborate on the substance of that meeting, maintaining that the family’s overriding concern remained securing the release of Mary’s body for burial.

Police insist on a forensic examination

The family’s position, however, differs sharply from that of the Ebonyi State Police Command.

From the outset, police investigators maintained that a forensic post-mortem examination was essential to determine the actual cause of death.

However, investigators also acknowledged that the deceased’s family had expressed opposition to an autopsy.

The differing positions created a difficult balancing act between the family’s desire for immediate burial and investigators’ insistence that forensic evidence could prove crucial in resolving lingering questions.

Investigation reportedly shifts to Abuja

As public interest intensified, reports emerged that the investigation itself had taken a new direction.

Sources familiar with developments told Sahara Reporters that police authorities in Abuja had directed the Ebonyi State Police Command to hand over the case.

The reports also suggested that Mary’s body could be moved to the Federal Capital Territory for forensic examination.

Although Weekend Trust could not independently confirm those claims, senior police sources told the newspaper that discussions had taken place involving the parties concerned.

One senior officer, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, said a meeting facilitated by the Force encouraged both sides to reduce public exchanges over the matter.

According to him, the family maintained its desire for Mary to “sleep in peace”, while police temporarily suspended plans for an autopsy.

“The Force is not conducting any autopsy for now”, the officer said, adding that the issue could still be revisited later if circumstances changed.

Another officer familiar with the investigation said statements had already been obtained from the minister and other persons connected with the incident before the family’s position resulted in a pause in forensic procedures.

“The investigations can still go on anytime, but as of now, the family is demanding that we stop,” the source said.

“What they want is the release of their daughter for burial.”

Those accounts have not been officially confirmed by Force Headquarters.

Efforts by Weekend Trust to obtain clarification from the Force Public Relations Officer were unsuccessful, as telephone calls went unanswered and messages had not been returned as of the time of filing the report.

More questions than answers

The evolving investigation has done little to quieten public curiosity.

Instead, each new development appears to have generated another layer of unanswered questions.

Why has there been no public disclosure of the medical circumstances surrounding Mary’s death?

Why do official accounts differ over aspects of her employment?

Will investigators eventually proceed with a forensic examination, or will the family’s wishes prevail?

And perhaps most painfully for her relatives, when will they finally be able to bury their daughter?

For the Habila family, these are not abstract questions debated on social media or television programmes. They have become part of their daily reality.

According to a youth leader in Nok, Danjuma Josiah Hyet, even the grave prepared for Mary has remained empty for weeks because her body has not been released.

“The grave prepared for her has been waiting for weeks,” he said. “It has even started collapsing because of the delay.”

The image has become one of the most poignant symbols of a case in which investigations remain incomplete, public interest remains intense, and a grieving family continues to wait for closure.

Spiritual cleansing fuels speculation

While the police investigation has focused on establishing the medical cause of Mary’s death, the incident has also reverberated far beyond the walls of the minister’s residence, drawing reactions from the community where she spent much of the last three years and from organisations demanding accountability.

The result is a case that has become larger than the tragedy of one family. It has evolved into a test of how transparently sensitive cases involving public officials are handled and communicated.

Weeks after Mary’s death, another development attracted national attention.

The Uburu Traditional Rulers Council announced a community-wide spiritual cleansing exercise known as Isu Arua, accompanied by a dawn-to-dusk curfew and suspension of commercial activities.

The timing prompted speculation in some quarters that the exercise was connected to Mary’s death.

Community leaders, however, firmly rejected that interpretation.

According to Chief Odi, preparations for the traditional observance had begun more than two years earlier and were unrelated to the events surrounding Mary’s death.

He described the exercise as an inherited cultural tradition through which the community collectively rejects social vices, including cultism, violence, poisoning, political intolerance and other forms of criminality.

“It doesn’t have any relationship,” he said of attempts to connect the exercise to Mary’s death. “It is just a coincidence.”

However, beyond Ebonyi and Kaduna states, Mary’s death has continued to generate reactions from professional groups, civil society organisations and community associations.

Among the most vocal has been the Southern Kaduna Professionals Forum (SKPF), which called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to suspend Senator Umahi pending the outcome of what it described as an independent investigation.

In a statement signed by its president, Arc. Samuel H. Yakubu and Director of Media and Strategic Communications, Israel Bulus, the organisation argued that the minister’s suspension should not be interpreted as a declaration of guilt but as a measure aimed at protecting public confidence in the investigative process.

The forum also called on security agencies to preserve evidence, question all relevant witnesses, utilise forensic experts where necessary and make their findings public.

The Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) adopted a more measured position.

While sympathising with Mary’s family, it urged the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that every aspect of the investigation is conducted professionally and transparently.

The organisation also appealed to members of the public to avoid speculation capable of undermining the investigative process. (Weekend Trust)

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