Minister of Works, David Umahi, has for the first time addressed the death of Mary Habila, the young nurse who died at a guest house within his residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State, insisting there was no foul play in the incident and describing efforts to link him to her death as politics taken too far.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Umahi disclosed that Habila spoke with her boyfriend shortly before her death and complained of a nosebleed during the call.

According to the minister, the boyfriend advised Habila to report the bleeding to her supervisor, after which she said it had stopped. He said the boyfriend later tried to end the call so she could rest, but Habila pleaded with him to stay on the line.

About three minutes after he eventually hung up, he called back and could not reach her again. Umahi said concern grew the next morning when Habila remained unreachable, prompting her colleagues to force open her door, where they found her dead with a tap still running, suggesting she may have wanted to bathe.

The minister described Habila, a nurse employed by the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ebonyi State, as “like a daughter” who had stayed with him for three years, correcting earlier reports describing her as a physiotherapist.

He said he had personally funded treatment for her past medical challenges and had directed his lawyers to request an autopsy to establish the cause of death.

Umahi’s account, however, stands in tension with findings contained in a legal advice issued by the Ebonyi State Director of Public Prosecutions, which stated that investigators found no evidence Habila was sick or unstable health-wise before her death, noting she was “full of life” when she returned to Uburu with her team.

The same legal advice, dated July 15, disclosed that Habila was found naked and lifeless on the floor with blood around her nose and mouth, raising questions that the DPP said only a post-mortem examination could resolve.

The case has drawn intense public scrutiny after reports emerged that Habila’s death on June 27 was not publicly disclosed for over two weeks, with the police yet to confirm the incident or announce a formal investigation until questions mounted.

Her family has said they intend to proceed with her burial in Nok, Kaduna State, without requesting an autopsy, even as authorities continue to withhold her body pending further legal guidance.

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