Anita Baaki, a close friend and colleague of Mary Habila, the nurse attached to the David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences and on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works, has explained what happened before Habila died.
Her account was contained in a sworn affidavit filed at the Ebonyi State High Court on Wednesday.
Baaki, a physiotherapist from Benue State, said she travelled from Abuja to Ebonyi State with Habila and other officials of the Federal Ministry of Works on June 24, 2026, for an official assignment under the Minister of Works, David Umahi.
She said they stayed in separate but connected rooms inside a staff chalet at the minister’s country home in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area.
Baaki said the chalet was meant for ministry staff and associates and was not the minister’s personal residence.
She said the last time she saw Habila was on the evening of June 26 after she returned from getting her hair done.
According to Baaki, Habila came into her room to show her the new hairstyle, and they spent some time talking and joking together.
“Mary told me she was tired and wanted to take a shower before sleeping. That was the last time I saw her alive,” Baaki stated in the affidavit.
Baaki said she became concerned the next morning when Habila did not come out of her room as expected.
She said several calls to Habila’s phone were not answered. She then knocked on the door, but there was no reply. When the room remained locked from the inside, she alerted a domestic staff member to search the premises.
After Habila was not found anywhere else, other staff members were informed and the door was forced open.
Baaki said Habila was found unconscious on the floor near the room’s entrance.
She was rushed to the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital, where doctors confirmed she was dead on arrival.
Baaki said she made the statement willingly and without coercion to help investigators determine the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death.
Police investigations are still ongoing, while lawyers representing the Minister of Works have requested a full forensic autopsy to determine the exact cause of death before Habila’s body is released for burial.
