A young woman identified as Mary Habbila has died under mysterious circumstances inside the country home of Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, SaharaReporters can exclusively report.
SaharaReporters’ investigation revealed that the incident has been shrouded in secrecy, with both the Ebonyi State Government and the state police command maintaining silence over the matter.
Multiple police sources told SaharaReporters that the incident occurred on June 27, 2026, barely a day after Habbila and another woman, Anita Baski, both from Kaduna State, were reportedly brought to the minister’s residence.
SaharaReporters learnt that the death has since triggered a police investigation, with the case transferred from the Ohaozara Divisional Police Headquarters to the Ebonyi State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Abakaliki.
According to police sources familiar with the investigation, Habbila and Baski arrived at the minister’s residence on June 26. The sources alleged that the two women had been brought from Kaduna State to attend to the minister.
Habbila was, however, found dead inside the residence the following morning under circumstances investigators are still trying to establish.
Police sources said Jonathan Bawado, a police officer who serves as Senator Umahi’s Personal Assistant and previously worked as his Aide-de-Camp (ADC) during Umahi’s tenure as Governor of Ebonyi State, alerted medical personnel after Habbila was discovered unresponsive.
According to the sources, a doctor and an ambulance were subsequently dispatched to the residence, while the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ohaozara Police Division, CSP Tobechukwu Godwin, was notified of the incident.
SaharaReporters further learnt that Professor Chihurumnanya Alo, Consultant Public Health Physician, Infectious Diseases Specialist and Chief Medical Director of the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital (DUFUTH), Uburu, was also alerted about the incident.
The police subsequently conveyed Habbila’s body to a mortuary.
SaharaReporters also learnt that the identification tag attached to Habbila’s body was handed over by the DPO to the Ebonyi State Police Command as part of the ongoing investigation.
A senior police officer in Ebonyi State, who spoke to SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed both Habbila’s death and the transfer of the investigation.
“The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Abakaliki,” the officer said.
The officer declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation.
As of the time of filing this report, the exact cause of Habbila’s death had not been officially disclosed. It also remained unclear whether an autopsy had been conducted or whether investigators had established if any criminal offence was involved.
SaharaReporters could not independently confirm whether Senator Umahi was at his country home when the incident occurred.
When contacted by SaharaReporters, Umahi’s Personal Assistant, Jonathan Bawado, declined to comment on the incident.
“I am a police officer. I am not supposed to talk to the press,” he said.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, Hope Urunwa Okafor, were unsuccessful, as she did not respond to calls placed to her mobile telephone line.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Joshua Ukandu, told SaharaReporters he was unaware of the incident but requested that a text message be sent to him so he could make inquiries.
SaharaReporters contacted Francis Nwaze, Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, for comment. However, he hung up immediately after being informed that the inquiry concerned the incident
Efforts to reach Professor Chihurumnanya Alo for comment were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls placed to his mobile telephone.
Neither the Ebonyi State Police Command nor the Federal Ministry of Works has issued any public statement disclosing Habbila’s death or explaining the circumstances surrounding it.
The events leading to the young woman’s death, including what transpired between her arrival at the minister’s residence and the discovery of her body the following morning, remain the subject of the ongoing police investigation.
