The remains of a 25-year-old physiotherapist, Mary Habila, who reportedly died in the house of Nigeria’s minister of works, David Umahi, on Sunday, June 27, 2026, will be buried on Friday, July 17. The deceased’s family says a funeral service will take place at Deeper Life Bible Church, Nok, Jaba LGA of Kaduna State, by 10am.
Ms Habila was born on September 18, 2000.
There have been calls for a thorough investigation of her death before the burial. Her death has continued to generate widespread concerns following a confirmation by Minister Umahi that she died at his residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State. The minister said she was a physiotherapist seconded from the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences to the Federal Ministry of Works. He too has called for an autopsy to determine the exact cause of her death, but her family has reportedly rejected the offer.
Mary Habila, popularly known as Mara, was reportedly found naked when her body was removed from the minister’s quarters, a development that has continued to fuel public outrage and demands for transparency over the circumstances surrounding her death. Speculations have generally pointed to rape, ritual murder or consensual sex gone wrong.
Police investigations continue, however, even as the mainstream media in Nigeria — popular print newspapers and television stations — have shown little interest in the story. “Where has journalism gone?” asks veteran journalist Sunny Igboanugo in a Facebook post. “What is shutting their eyes and making them blind to the most profound and telling human-interest story since the June 2021 Chidinma Ojukwu/Michael Usifo Ataga Super TV CEO murder scandal?”
— By Ekong Utip
