David Umahi, Nigeria's works minister, said on Thursday that late Mary Habila felt like his own daughter to him. He was speaking publicly for the first time since she died at his residence.
Habila, a nurse at David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences in Uburu, Ebonyi State, passed away on June 27, 2026, in a guest house on the minister's property in Umunaga. Umahi told journalists she had worked for him for three years.
He called for an autopsy to establish what killed her. "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, Habila had struggled with health problems over the years, and he'd paid for her treatment personally. He rejected suggestions he played any role in her death.
Umahi expressed frustration that everything becomes a political issue in Nigeria. "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.
The minister said he's instructed his legal team to pursue cases against people spreading false claims about the incident online. He added that he plans to use the courts to tackle cyberbullying linked to the matter.
"We are going to test the law on cyberbullying over this matter," he said.