Habila’s Family Petitions IGP, Seeks Release of Daughter’s Remains for Interment

.Jibrin’s aide condemn Atiku’s call for Umahi’s suspension 

.Atiku faults FG, police over handling of Mary Habila, Dolapo Tanimola’s deaths

Chuks Okocha, Emmanuel Addeh,  Linus Aleke in Abuja and Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki 

The family of late Miss Mary Habila has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, seeking the release of her remains for burial, while opposing calls for an autopsy before interment.

This was as a legislative aide to the Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, Chief Emmanuel Igwe, has condemned the recent call made by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the suspension of the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, over the death of Mary Habila in his residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State.

But former vice President and the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku, has criticised the federal government and the Nigeria Police Force over what he described as their failure to properly investigate the deaths of Mary Habila and Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola.

The late Habila’s father, Mr. Tanko Habila, accompanied by his wife, other family members and their lawyers, submitted the petition at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, yesterday.

He later addressed journalists, appealing to the police to release his daughter’s remains to enable the family to give her a befitting burial.

Mary Habila, a nurse, died on 27 June 2026 in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, at a residence belonging to the Minister of Works, Senator Umahi.

The family said it had been unable to bury her nearly two weeks after her death due to the continued retention of her remains by the authorities.

Speaking after the family’s lawyer addressed the media, Tanko said the family was not seeking an autopsy and was not accusing anyone of wrongdoing.

“As we are standing here, somebody can fall and die. It has happened. All we want is her body to be buried,” he said.

He added, “I am demanding the corpse of my daughter to go and bury her now. We don’t want that autopsy that they are talking about, and I am not suspecting anybody because death can occur. Even as we are standing here, one can fall here now and die.”

Tanko said the family had a close relationship with Mary before her death and appealed to the police to respect their desire to lay her to rest peacefully. He also cautioned against politicising the incident.

Speaking on behalf of the family, their lawyer, Kaile Adamu Yusuf, said the decision to oppose an autopsy was based on the family’s cultural and religious considerations. He also disputed descriptions of the deceased as a physiotherapist, stating that she was a nurse employed by David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences, Uburu, Ebonyi State, before she was seconded to the minister’s office, where she had worked for about three years.

Yusuf said the family had followed the necessary procedures required by the police to obtain the remains but was yet to receive them.

“It is regrettable that, having followed all the necessary procedures required by the Nigerian Police in Ebonyi State to retrieve the body and give her a befitting burial, her remains are yet to be released to the family,” he said.

He alleged that attempts were being made to use the circumstances surrounding Mary’s death for political purposes, adding that the family believed she should not become a subject of political controversy.

“The family is determined and has maintained its position not to allow the autopsy because of personal, cultural and traditional reasons,” he added.

Yusuf disclosed that the family had petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over the continued withholding of the remains, requesting their release for burial.

Also speaking, Mary’s colleague, Anita Baaki, described the nurse’s death as shocking and painful, characterising it as a very great loss to her. Baaki also refuted claims that she and the deceased were recently brought to work for the minister.

“We were not transported from anywhere. We have both worked under the minister for about three years. She was a nurse, while I am the physiotherapist. Those reports are simply not true” she concluded.

Meanwhile, lawyers to the Minister of Works, Umahi, have requested that an autopsy be conducted before the release of Mary’s remains.

In a request titled: ‘Request For The Conduct Of An Autopsy On The Late Miss Mary Habila Before The Release Of Her Remains’, the minister’s lawyers urged the Nigeria Police Force to ensure that a comprehensive autopsy is carried out by qualified forensic pathologists to establish the cause and circumstances surrounding her death.

The lawyers stated that the request was made in the interest of justice, transparency and the proper administration of criminal justice. They added that the remains should not be released until the autopsy and other necessary investigative procedures had been concluded, noting that the process would help preserve the integrity of the investigation, eliminate speculation and determine the circumstances of her death before burial.

Speaking on the unfortunate incident, Chief Igwe further described Atiku’s statement as putting the “cart before the horse”.

In a statement issued to journalists, he warned against the politicisation of the unfortunate death of the 26-year-old nurse attached to the Minister of Works.

He therefore rejected Atiku’s call for Umahi’s suspension, describing it as premature, politically motivated, and inconsistent with the principles of justice, fairness, and due process.

Igwe cautioned that while every Nigerian has the right to demand a thorough, transparent, and impartial investigation into the unfortunate death of Mary Habila, it was improper for Atiku to draw conclusions or prescribe sanctions before the investigative authorities have established the facts. 

According to him, “the press statement by the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on the unfortunate death of Miss Mary Habila and the overt political maneuvers by major opposition figures in the Nigeria polity to indict the Honourable Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, even before the conclusion of the ongoing investigation is a typical example of putting the cart before the horse.

“The rule of law requires that investigations precede judgements, evidence precede accusations, and due process prevail over public speculation.

“To call for the suspension of a public official before any investigative findings have been made risks undermining the very principles of justice and fairness that we all seek to uphold.”

Igwe therefore urged stakeholders, political leaders, civil society organisations, the media, and members of the public to refrain from making prejudicial statements while investigations were still ongoing. 

Meanwhile, Atiku has insisted that both cases required criminal investigations and coroner’s inquests.

Atiku made the remarks in a post shared on X yesterday, posted by his media aide, Paul Ibe, arguing that the authorities failed in their legal responsibility to investigate the circumstances surrounding the two deaths.

Mary reportedly died at the Uburu residence of the Minister of Works and former Ebonyi State Governor, Umahi, while Tanimola, whom was described as an intermediary in the alleged “#GbajaGate” scandal, reportedly died at Kachi Hotel in Utako, Abuja.

According to Atiku, Nigerian law requires the government to treat sudden, suspicious or unnatural deaths as offences against the state, regardless of the wishes of the deceased persons’ families.

“Under our law, the government is obligated to treat suspicious, sudden, or unnatural deaths as crimes against the state. The expectations are that the Nigeria Police Force would have conducted a full criminal investigation and launched a Coroner’s Inquest to establish the medical cause and manner of deaths of Habila and Dolapo.”

He argued that the authorities were expected to secure the scenes of both incidents, preserve forensic evidence and question all relevant persons as part of a comprehensive investigation.

Atiku further maintained that the consent of the victims’ families was not a legal requirement before the government could initiate criminal investigations into the cases.

“Since homicide is a state offense, the government’s duty to investigate cannot be vetoed or halted, even by the grieving family.”

The former vice president also questioned whether autopsies were conducted on the two deceased persons, expressing concern that the absence of post-mortem examinations could make it difficult to establish the exact cause of death.

“The question is, were autopsies conducted on Habila and Dolapo? The answer is No. Without a state conducted post-mortem examination, how do we determine the cause of death, identify any foul play, torture, or negligence?”

Atiku’s comments came amid growing public calls from opposition figures and civil society groups for independent investigations into the deaths, particularly that of Mary Habila, whose case has continued to generate national attention.

Earlier, Umahi had broken his silence on the incident, describing the deceased as “like a daughter” and rejecting suggestions of wrongdoing.

The minister said attempts to link him to the incident amounted to “politics taken too far”, adding that Mary had worked closely with him for years and had a history of medical challenges for which he personally supported her treatment.

He also disclosed that she had complained of nose bleeding during a phone conversation with her boyfriend shortly before she was found dead, while maintaining that there was no evidence of foul play. Umahi further clarified that Mary was a nurse employed by the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ebonyi State, and not a physiotherapist as earlier reported.