Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Bola Tinubu to order the immediate stepping aside of the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, pending an independent investigation into the death of Miss Mary Habila, a 26-year-old woman who died in the Minister’s residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State, on June 27, 2026.
In a statement released on Thursday, Atiku expressed “deep sorrow and mounting concern” over the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death, describing the Federal Government’s handling of the matter as a “comprehensive and disgraceful” failure.
“A young woman died in the residence of a serving Federal Minister. For nearly two weeks, neither the Minister, nor the police, nor any arm of government said a word to the Nigerian people,” Atiku said.
“It took the courage of Sahara Reporters to bring this death into public view. Three weeks after her death, no autopsy has been performed. No cause of death has been established.”
The former Vice President criticized the silence from the Presidency, the Federal Executive Council, the Inspector-General of Police, and the National Assembly, saying no directive or assurance has been given that “the life of Mary Habila matters to this government.”
He noted that while the investigation remains with the Ebonyi State Command, where Senator Umahi served two terms as Governor, the Minister has been allowed to “manage the narrative” through aides and private lawyers while continuing official duties.
“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,” Atiku stated. “A government’s first duty is the protection of life. Where a life is lost in circumstances touching a high official of state, the burden on government to act transparently is at its heaviest.”
Atiku outlined four demands, First, President Tinubu should direct Senator Umahi to step aside immediately pending the conclusion of investigations. He described it as “the minimum standard of public accountability in any serious democracy.”
Second, the Inspector-General of Police should transfer the case from the Ebonyi State Command to Force Headquarters with the involvement of independent forensic experts, to avoid investigation “in the shadow of the Minister’s home-state influence.”
Third, a full, independent, and internationally credible autopsy must be conducted without further delay and the findings made public. He said the delay three weeks after the death “is an indictment of every institution involved.”
Fourth, the family of Mary Habila must be protected from pressure or intimidation and guaranteed “unfettered access to the facts of their daughter’s death.”
Atiku concluded by asking: “If the death of a young Nigerian woman in a Minister’s residence cannot stir this government to act, then Nigerians must ask: whose life, exactly, does this government value?”
Mary Habila, from Nok in Southern Kaduna, reportedly died within the private residence of the Honourable Minister of Works in Uburu on June 27, 2026.
