Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu to direct the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to step aside temporarily pending the conclusion of investigations into the death of 26-year-old Mary Habila.
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Atiku, in a statement issued on Thursday, said Habila’s death and the circumstances surrounding it required an independent, transparent and credible investigation capable of commanding public confidence.
He expressed condolences to the deceased’s family, saying no family should have to mourn a daughter taken in the prime of her life while also struggling to establish the truth about how she died.
“I have followed with deep sorrow and mounting concern the reports surrounding the death of Miss Mary Habila, a 26-year-old Nigerian from Nok, Southern Kaduna,” he said.
Atiku stressed that he was not accusing Umahi or any other person of criminal responsibility, noting that only a proper investigation could determine whether anyone was culpable.
“Let me be clear: I make no pronouncement on anyone’s guilt or innocence. That is precisely the point. Only a credible, independent and transparent investigation can establish the truth,” he said.
The former vice president argued that where a death occurred in circumstances connected to a senior public official, the government had a heightened responsibility to ensure that the investigation was transparent and free from any appearance of interference.
He therefore called on Tinubu to ask Umahi to vacate office temporarily until investigators had completed their work.
“President Bola Tinubu must direct the Honourable Minister of Works to step aside immediately, pending the conclusion of investigations,” Atiku said.
“This is not a punishment; it is the minimum standard of public accountability in any serious democracy.”
According to him, temporarily stepping aside would protect the integrity of the investigation and should not be interpreted as a declaration of guilt.
Atiku also called on the Inspector-General of Police to transfer the investigation from the Ebonyi State Police Command to the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
He said independent forensic experts should be involved to ensure that the inquiry met acceptable professional and evidential standards.
“The Inspector-General of Police must immediately transfer the investigation from the Ebonyi State Command to Force Headquarters, with the involvement of independent forensic experts,” he said.
The former vice president further demanded a comprehensive and internationally credible post-mortem examination to establish the medical cause of Habila’s death.
He said the findings of the autopsy should be made public to address the questions and conflicting accounts surrounding the incident.
“A full, independent and internationally credible autopsy must be conducted without further delay, with the findings made public,” Atiku stated.
Atiku urged the authorities to ensure that Habila’s parents and other family members were protected from intimidation, inducement, pressure or any form of interference throughout the investigation.
He said the family should also be granted unrestricted access to relevant information concerning their daughter’s death.
“The family of Mary Habila must be protected from any pressure, inducement or intimidation, and must be guaranteed unfettered access to the facts of their daughter’s death,” he added.
Atiku warned that accountability must apply equally to all Nigerians, regardless of their political office, status or influence.
“The measure of a nation is how it responds when the powerful are touched by tragedy and the powerless demand truth,” he said.
He maintained that Habila’s death should not be reduced to what he described as a matter of political convenience, adding that every Nigerian life deserved equal protection and consideration.
Habila died on June 27, 2026, after she was found unconscious in a staff chalet within Umahi’s country home in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
She was an employee of the David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences and had been seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja.
An affidavit by Habila’s colleague and close friend, Anita Baaki, stated that they travelled from Abuja to Ebonyi with other ministry officials on June 24 for an official assignment.
Baaki said the officials were accommodated in separate but adjoining rooms in a staff chalet reserved for ministry employees and associates, rather than in Umahi’s private living quarters.
According to her account, she last saw Habila alive on the evening of June 26 after the deceased returned from having her hair done.
Baaki said she became concerned the following morning when Habila failed to come out of her room and did not respond to repeated telephone calls or knocks on the door.
Other staff members were alerted, and the door was reportedly forced open after it appeared to have been locked from inside.
Habila was found unconscious on the floor near the entrance and was taken to the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Umahi had earlier denied allegations that the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death were being concealed.
The minister said medical personnel and the police were promptly contacted after she was found unresponsive.
He also supported an autopsy to establish the cause of death and threatened legal action against persons circulating what he described as false information about the incident.
Lawyers representing Umahi subsequently wrote to the police requesting a comprehensive forensic post-mortem examination before Habila’s body was released for burial.
They maintained that an autopsy would provide an objective medical explanation and resolve outstanding questions concerning the death.
Habila’s father, Tanko Habila Wisdom, however, filed an affidavit dated July 13 asking that the investigation be discontinued and his daughter’s body released for burial.
He stated that the family did not suspect foul play and would not consent to an autopsy because it wanted Habila’s body and organs to remain intact.
The father also declared that he had not been induced, coerced or influenced to make the request and said the affidavit reflected the wishes of the family.
Despite the family’s objection, the Ebonyi State Police Command said a post-mortem examination remained necessary to determine the cause of death and support the criminal investigation.
Police spokesperson SP Joshua Ukandu said detectives had visited the scene and obtained statements from relevant persons.
The command said it would engage a pathologist and asked the family or its duly appointed representative to attend the examination.
Police authorities promised that the investigation would be thorough, transparent and impartial.
No official medical cause of death has been publicly released, and no finding has established criminal responsibility against Umahi, members of his staff or any other person.
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