She Was Like a Daughter to Me: Umahi Rejects Allegations Over Nurse Habila’s Death

Minister of Works, David Umahi, has rejected allegations of foul play surrounding the death of Nurse Mary Habila, describing attempts to link him to the incident as an effort to politicise an unfortunate situation.

Umahi, who addressed journalists in Abuja on Thursday, said Habila was a valued member of his medical team and had worked closely with him for three years before her death.

He questioned why he should be held responsible for the death of a staff member, insisting that the circumstances surrounding the incident should not be turned into a political issue.

“What baffles me in this country is that everything becomes an opportunity. There is a guest house where she and the second medical person stay, and that is very far from where I stay,” Umahi said.

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“Does it mean that if, God forbid, somebody dies in the Ministry of Works, the minister must be accountable? Is that what they are saying? Are they saying that somebody cannot die? Have they checked the medical records of the lady? Do they know that this lady was like a daughter to me?”

The minister warned those attempting to exploit Habila’s death for political reasons, saying they should be cautious in their accusations.

“Everything goes into politics. But what I say to people is, be careful; life is spiritual. When you want to use the unfortunate death of a young girl to play politics, if we have hands in the killings, let it follow us in our families,” he said.

“But if we don’t have hands and you are jumping into it, behold, this is David—I am a man of full grace. You don’t tackle me anyhow and go free. So be careful when you want to use the death of that young lady—one of my best workers, a nurse, and a federal staff.”

Umahi explained that Habila was a federal staff member attached to the medical team and had received medical attention through his support, adding that their families had maintained a close relationship.

“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, not a physiotherapist,” he said.

“Her family and my family are like one, and she has her medical records in Turkish Hospital, with her treatments paid for by us.”

The former Ebonyi State governor also provided details of Habila’s final moments, saying she had spoken with her boyfriend shortly before her death.

According to Umahi, Habila complained during the conversation that she was experiencing nose bleeding, after which her boyfriend advised her to seek medical attention.

“She spoke to her boyfriend at the hour of her death, complaining that she was bleeding from the nose. The boyfriend said, ‘No, you have to report it. See, it has stopped.’ He then added, ‘Listen, I will not continue this conversation, since you are bleeding, it will increase the bleeding,’” he said.

Umahi said Habila pleaded with her boyfriend not to end the call, but the call was eventually disconnected.

“She told her boyfriend not to cut the call, but he cut the call anyway. Three minutes later, the boyfriend called again, but she was not responding.”

He added that Habila had earlier informed her boyfriend she was going to take a bath, and her room had to be opened forcefully after she failed to respond the following morning.

“Even in the morning, she had told her boyfriend she was going to take a bath. Because she locked her door, when they discovered her in the morning, they had to break the door. They found her, and the tap was still running.”