Mary Habila spoke with boyfriend before demise, had nosebleed – Umahi

By Lawrence Agbo

Minister of Works, David Umahi, has revealed that Mary Habila, the nurse who died at a guest house within his residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State, spoke with her boyfriend shortly before her death and complained of a nosebleed.

Addressing journalists for the first time since the incident, Umahi described the deceased as “like a daughter” to him and disclosed that she had informed her boyfriend she was bleeding from the nose on the night of the incident.

“The lady in question was like a daughter to me. She had stayed with me for three years. She was a staff of the Federal Medical University. She was a nurse and not a physiotherapist,” Umahi said.

According to him, the boyfriend advised her to notify her supervisor, after which she said the bleeding had stopped.

Umahi said the boyfriend later attempted to end the call so she could rest, but Habila reportedly pleaded with him to remain on the line.

“She told the boyfriend she was bleeding from the nose. The boyfriend advised her to report it to her boss. She later told him the bleeding had stopped.

“He then said he would end the call so she could rest. She pleaded with him not to end the conversation, but he did. About three minutes later, he called back and she was no longer answering her phone,” the minister said.

He explained that concern grew the following morning when Habila could not be reached, prompting her colleagues to force open the door to her room.

“When they broke the door, they found her dead. The tap was still running. I think she wanted to have her bath,” Umahi stated.

The minister said he had directed his lawyers to request an autopsy to establish the cause of death and appealed to Habila’s family to permit the procedure despite their cultural reservations.

“We told our lawyer that an autopsy should be done. We are appealing to the parents to allow it. They said it is against their culture,” he said.

He also disclosed that he had informed the Inspector-General of Police and requested that the investigation be transferred to Abuja.

Umahi further revealed that Habila had been receiving treatment for an undisclosed medical condition at a hospital in Abuja, with the medical bills reportedly paid by his family.

He dismissed allegations of foul play, insisting there was no immediate evidence to support such claims, and condemned attempts to politicise the incident while warning that legal action would be taken against individuals spreading false information online.

“What baffles me is that everything becomes politics in this country. Must the minister be held responsible because somebody died in a guest house under the Ministry of Works? Is that how it works?” he asked.

“We are going to test the law on cyberbullying over this matter,” he said.