Lawyers representing the Minister of Works, David Umahi, have requested a comprehensive forensic autopsy to establish the cause of death of Mary Habila, a nurse who was found unconscious in a staff chalet within the minister’s country home in Uburu, Ebonyi State, before her remains are released for burial.
The request comes as Habila’s father, Mr Tanko Habila Wisdom, filed a sworn affidavit withdrawing his family’s interest in further investigation, rejecting an autopsy and asking the police to release his daughter’s body for burial.
The developments followed a separate affidavit by Anita Baaki, a close friend and colleague of the deceased, detailing the events that preceded Habila’s death on June 27, 2026.
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 connected with the minister.
According to her, the delegation was accommodated in separate but adjoining rooms in a staff chalet within the minister’s country home in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area.
She stressed that the chalet was designated for ministry employees and associates and was not Umahi’s private residence.
Baaki said she last saw Habila alive on the evening of June 26 after the deceased returned from having her hair done.
According to the affidavit, Habila visited Baaki’s room to show her new hairstyle, and the two women chatted and joked for some time.
“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.
She said she became concerned the following morning when Habila failed to leave her room at the expected time.
Baaki reportedly called Habila’s telephone repeatedly, but the calls went unanswered. She then knocked on the door, but there was no response, and the room appeared to have been locked from inside.
She subsequently alerted a domestic employee, who searched other parts of the premises to determine whether Habila had left the room.
After she could not be found elsewhere, other staff members were informed, and the door was forcibly opened.
Baaki said Habila was found lying unconscious on the floor near the entrance to the room.
She was immediately taken to the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital, where medical personnel pronounced her dead on arrival.
Baaki said she made the statement voluntarily and without intimidation, inducement or coercion to assist investigators in establishing the circumstances surrounding her colleague’s death.
However, an affidavit titled “Affidavit of Withdrawal of Case,” sworn to by Habila’s father before the High Court Registry in Abakaliki on July 13, 2026, showed that the family had asked the authorities to discontinue further investigation and release her body for burial.
Tanko Habila Wisdom, who identified himself as a resident of Sabon Gari Nok in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, confirmed that Mary Habila was his daughter and died in Uburu on June 27.
He stated that, before her death, Habila was an employee of the David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences and had been seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works in Mabushi, Abuja, for about three years.
The father also stated that his daughter served as a personal nurse to the Minister of Works and members of his immediate staff.
According to the affidavit, she resided at the minister’s guest house in Abuja and stayed at the minister’s staff quarters whenever she was in Ebonyi State.
The affidavit showed that the father was aware that Umahi requested an autopsy to determine the cause of Habila’s death.
Although he said the family welcomed efforts to unravel the circumstances of her death, he maintained that they would not consent to a post-mortem examination.
“While I welcome steps being taken to unravel the cause of my daughter’s death, my family and I will not accept any autopsy on my daughter’s body,” he stated.
He said it was the family’s wish that Habila’s body and organs should remain intact, notwithstanding medical and investigative procedures that might require an autopsy.
The father consequently asked the police to release the remains to the family for burial.
“I also wish not to proceed further with the investigation and further request to have my daughter’s body released to me for burial,” the affidavit stated.
Tanko further stated that he would not honour subsequent invitations from the police or the court concerning the matter because his family did not suspect foul play in Habila’s death.
“I will not honour subsequent invitation either to the police or court in respect of this case, as my family is not suspecting any foul play,” he said.
He also declared that he had not been offered any inducement or subjected to coercion or external influence before making the affidavit.
According to him, the contents of the document represented his sincere wishes and those of his family.
“While reiterating our request for the Nigerian Police to release my daughter’s corpse for burial, I wish to state that I was never induced, coerced or influenced in any way with anything or by anybody to make these depositions, as everything deposed here reflects the sincere wishes of my family and I,” he stated.
The affidavit was sworn before a Commissioner for Oaths at the Ebonyi State High Court Registry in Abakaliki.
Despite the family’s position, lawyers representing the Minister of Works have requested that a comprehensive forensic autopsy be conducted to establish the exact cause of Habila’s death before the body is released.
Their position is that a forensic examination would provide an objective medical explanation of the death and assist investigators in resolving any outstanding questions arising from the circumstances in which she was found.
The police had also demanded an autopsy as part of their investigation into the death of the 26-year-old nurse.
No finding has established criminal responsibility against the minister, members of his staff or any other person in connection with Habila’s death.
The separate affidavits now present two significant accounts: Baaki’s description of the deceased’s final hours and the discovery of her body, and the father’s request that the investigation be discontinued without an autopsy because the family suspects no foul play.
The post “Conduct Forensic Autopsy Before Releasing Nurse’s Body” — Umahi’s Lawyers Insist As Father Withdraws Case, Says Family Suspects No Foul Play appeared first on TheNigeriaLawyer.
