Habila: My Hands Are Clean, I Insist On Inquest—- Umahi
Sen. David Umahi, the Minister of Works has reiterated his call for a thorough investigation and autopsy on Mary Habila to unravel the remote and immediate cause of her death.
Umahi who made the call in a Statement personally signed by him on Thursday expressed regret over the death of Habila whom he described as a ‘daughter’
Habila, a 26 year old nurse at the Federal Medical University died last week in the country home of the Works Minister under a questionable circumstance.
The family of the deceased had rejected the call that an autopsy be conducted on their daughter amidst growing calls and applied through the court that her corpse should be released to them for burial.
But Umahi who provided more insight on the identity and his relationship with Habila said he was close to her family and that she had lived in his house for three years.
He said Habila had been receiving treatment at a Turkish hospital where he paid her medical bills, including N2.2 million in April.
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He said there was no need to use the unfortunate death of the young lady to play politics and cautioned again making false accusations against him.
“It is unfair to hold me responsible simply because it belongs to the Ministry of Works, if we had a hand in her death, it would follow us and our families.
“The lady in question was like a daughter to me, she stayed with me for three years, our families are like one family.
“Her death is very painful to me because she was one of my best workers,” he said.
Umahi said Habila had experienced nosebleeds previously and that she had told her boyfriend over the phone before her death that she was bleeding from the nose but when he called back three minutes later, she was no longer responding.
He said though her boyfriend advised her to seek medical attention, she refused to heed hoping that she would be alright.
“He advised her to report it, but she said the bleeding had stopped.
“When people became concerned, they broke down the door and found her dead, with the tap still running.
“We have been begging the family to allow an autopsy, but they said it is against their culture.
“Through our lawyers, we insisted that an autopsy must be carried out, and I have directed that the body should not be released until it is done.
“I have also asked the Inspector-General of Police to transfer the investigation to Abuja and engage with the family to secure their consent.
I have asked the police to retrieve the call logs between her and her boyfriend so they can listen to their final conversation.
“I suspect no foul play because another lady was in the room, the door was locked from the inside and had to be broken open, and the tap was still running, suggesting she was about to take a bath,” he said.
Umahi said the photographs circulating online were taken at the mortuary by the police for the purpose of spreading damaging misinformation.
“I have instructed my lawyers to take legal action against those responsible for cyberbullying and spreading false information, and we intend to test the law on the matter,” he said.
