Questions continue to surround the mysterious death of physiotherapist Mary Habila at the residence of Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Dave Umahi.
Habila, said to be Umahi’s personal physiotherapist, died in unclear circumstances, with many Nigerians demanding answers.
In a statement released on Saturday, the minister’s Senior Special Assistant, Francis Nweze, confirmed her death.
The statement said Habila and Miss Anita Baski, who are employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, Ebonyi State, had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for the past three years.
It also said Umahi asked for an autopsy to determine the cause of Habila’s death, but her family refused.
“Following confirmation of Miss Habila’s passing, the Honourable Minister personally received her parents, conveyed his sincere condolences, and advised that an autopsy be conducted to scientifically establish the exact cause of death.
“At the time, however, the family declined the recommendation.
“It is important to clarify that Miss Mary Habila and Miss Anita Baski are employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, who had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for the past three years until the unfortunate passing of Miss Habila,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, allegations claim Habila was naked when her body was found inside Umahi’s residence.
The unusual circumstances surrounding her death have continued to raise questions on X.
Reacting in a post on X, Secret Reporter journalist Fejiro Oliver said Umahi has many questions to answer.
“The Umahi Teaching Hospital that he claimed deployed them to him has no business doing such. Umahi has lots of questions to answer.
“If a girl dies in the house of a poor man, he will be in police custody by now. Umahi should be in one. That’s the only debate he should be having right now and not with Peter Obi,” Oliver said.
He also asked:
“Who killed the girl?
“Who sucked her breasts when it was opened?
“Who stripped her naked?
“Do doctors now carry out physio work naked?”
Another X user, Onu_Slim, wrote:
“Nigeria, we need to talk about what happened at Dave Umahi’s residence.”
Also reacting on X, the head of Mission, Leadership and Accountability Initiative, Henry Shield, claimed:
“Let me burst your bubbles. Last week, I was invited to Transcorp by a former presidential aide who knew about this issue and wanted me to push it out.
“He gave me a vivid picture of what happened and even asked me to call the CP of Ebonyi and the Commissioner of Information to verify. I decided to investigate privately, and mehn, Umahi should rot in jail.”
As of the time this report was filed, the Nigeria Police Force had not officially commented on the incident.
