The woman found dead at the residence of Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, who has been identified as Mary Habila, died naked at the Minister’s quarters, SaharaReporters has gathered.
According to exclusive findings by SaharaReporters on Sunday, Habila, a Physiotherapist, was reportedly found naked when her body was removed from the minister’s residence.
SaharaReporters had reported that the minister, David Umahi, confirmed that Mary Habila died at his residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State. He had claimed that she was a physiotherapist seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works from the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences.
Exclusive photographs obtained by SaharaReporters showed that Mary Habila was found without clothing when her body was removed from the minister’s residence.
SaharaReporters has independently verified the authenticity and context of the images.
Despite the Minister’s official statement claiming that Mary Habila and Mary Baski were physiotherapists employed by the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences and seconded to his residence, police sources familiar with the investigation have disputed that account.
According to the sources, Habila and Baski arrived at the minister’s residence on June 26 after travelling from Kaduna State. Investigators alleged that the two women were brought from Kaduna to attend to the minister.
Habila was found dead inside the residence the following morning under circumstances that investigators are still working to establish.
Police sources further disclosed that Jonathan Bawado, a police officer serving as Senator David Umahi’s Personal Assistant and who previously served as his Aide-de-Camp (ADC) during Umahi’s tenure as Governor of Ebonyi State, was responsible for bringing the two women to the residence.
According to the sources, Bawado was also the individual who alerted medical personnel after Habila was discovered unresponsive.
There have been also public concerns about how staff of the University hospital were seconded to the residence of the Minister of Works for no official reasons.
In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, Umahi had described Habila’s death as “unfortunate” and said he received the news with profound shock and sadness.
According to the statement, the minister said emergency measures were immediately activated after the incident, with medical personnel, including the Chief Medical Director of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS), Uburu, contacted without delay.
He added that the Nigerian police was also promptly notified in line with legal procedures.
The minister claimed that after Habila’s death was confirmed, he personally received her parents, offered his condolences, and advised the family to consent to an autopsy to scientifically establish the cause of death.
However, the minister claimed that the family initially declined the recommendation.
The death of Mary Habila has generated public interest following reports questioning the circumstances under which she died while in Uburu, Ebonyi State, prompting calls for a transparent investigation.
SaharaReporters previously reported that Habbila died under mysterious circumstances inside the country home of Nigeria’s Umahi in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
SaharaReporters’ investigation revealed that the incident had been shrouded in secrecy, with both the Ebonyi State Government and the state police command maintaining silence over the matter.
Multiple police sources told SaharaReporters that the incident occurred on June 27, 2026, barely a day after Habbila and another woman, Anita Baski, both from Kaduna State, were reportedly brought to the minister’s residence.
SaharaReporters learnt that the death had since triggered a police investigation, with the case transferred from the Ohaozara Divisional Police Headquarters to the Ebonyi State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Abakaliki.
According to police sources familiar with the investigation, Habbila and Baski arrived at the minister’s residence on June 26. The sources alleged that the two women had been brought from Kaduna State to attend to the minister.
Habbila was, however, found dead inside the residence the following morning under circumstances investigators are still trying to establish.
According to the sources, a doctor and an ambulance were subsequently dispatched to the residence, while the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ohaozara Police Division, CSP Tobechukwu Godwin, was notified of the incident.
SaharaReporters further learnt that Professor Chihurumnanya Alo, Consultant Public Health Physician, Infectious Diseases Specialist and Chief Medical Director of the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital (DUFUTH), Uburu, was also alerted about the incident.
