‘She was my daughter. I paid N2.2m for her treatment in April’ — David Umahi speaks on nurse’s death
The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has said that the nurse, Mary Habila, who passed away in his guest house in Uburu, Ebonyi State, was like a daughter to him.
Speaking at a packed press conference in Abuja on Thursday, an emotional Umahi vehemently denied any foul play, saying that the late nurse’s family and his own were very close.
The minister warned detractors against politicising a deeply painful tragedy.
The Minister also clarified key details surrounding her identity, noting that Habila had worked closely with his family for three years and was a registered nurse attached to the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ebonyi State, debunking earlier media reports that categorised her as a physiotherapist.
‘I paid ₦2.2 million for her treatment’
Defending his relationship with the deceased, the Minister disclosed that he had been heavily invested in her well-being, pointing out that she had a pre-existing medical history and was actively receiving treatment at a Turkish hospital at his expense.
“She has her medical records in Turkish Hospital, being paid by us,” Umahi stated. “The last one was on the 5th of April, and it cost me ₦2.2 million. The records are there. I paid ₦2.2 million.”
Chilling account of Habila’s final moments
Narrating the sequence of events leading up to the tragic discovery, Umahi revealed that Habila had a history of severe nosebleeds and was on the phone with her boyfriend at the exact hour of her passing.
According to the Minister, Habila complained to her partner that she was actively bleeding from the nose.
When the boyfriend urged her to report the issue, she claimed it had stopped but requested that he stay on the line. After he hung up to prevent her from straining herself, subsequent calls went unanswered.
“Even in the morning, she told her boyfriend she was going to bathe because she had locked her door,” Umahi recounted.
“When they discovered something was wrong, they broke down the door and discovered her dead. The tap was still running.”
The Minister maintained that the circumstances pointed strictly to a medical emergency rather than a criminal act. “I suspect no foul play because the other lady who stayed with her was sleeping in the same bed. Her room was still locked… I think she was going to bathe.”
Umahi demands autopsy, petitions IGP
In a bid to ensure total transparency and uncover the definitive cause of death, the Minister revealed that he has formally requested the Inspector-General of Police to transfer the case diary to Abuja.
He also made a passionate plea to Habila’s grieving parents to drop their cultural objections and allow a forensic autopsy to be conducted before the body is released for burial.
“We have been begging the parents to allow an autopsy to happen. They said it is against their culture. But we insisted through our lawyer that an autopsy should happen. I have directed that the corpse cannot be removed until an autopsy,” Umahi asserted.
Minister vows legal action over ‘cyberbullying’
The Works Minister fiercely criticised opposition elements and online commentators for attempting to tie him directly to the incident simply because it transpired within a ministry facility.
“What baffles me in this country is that everything becomes an opportunity,” Umahi lamented. “There is a guest house where she and other medical personnel stayed, and that is very far from where I stay. Does it mean that because somebody dies in the Ministry of Works, the minister must be accountable for that?”
Expressing disgust over the leakage of raw, graphic mortuary photographs of the deceased online, Umahi issued a stern warning that he would be deploying his legal team to hunt down bloggers and influencers spreading malicious narratives.
“I have directed my lawyers to get across to those involved in cyberbullying this matter. We are going to test the law on that,” the Minister concluded.
Read Also: Umahi under pressure over death of Mary Habila in his mansion
