The family of Mary Habila, the 26-year-old nurse who died while attached to the medical team of the Minister of Works, David Umahi, has appealed to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, to order the release of her body for burial.
Addressing journalists at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Friday, the family’s lawyer, Kaile Yusuf, said they had complied with every requirement set by the police but Habila’s remains had still not been released, nearly three weeks after her death.
Habila, who worked at the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital, died on June 27 while serving on secondment with the minister’s medical team.
Yusuf said the family had fulfilled all the conditions required to collect the body and proceed with burial arrangements.
“It is regrettable that, having followed all necessary procedures by the family as required by the Nigerian Police to retrieve the body to give her a befitting burial, having stayed long in that process,” he said.
“Unfortunately, her body is yet to be released to the family, which is unfortunate.”
The lawyer also sought to correct reports describing Habila as a physiotherapist, insisting she was a qualified nurse.
According to him, she had worked at the David Umahi University of Health Sciences before being posted to the Office of the Minister of Works, where she served as a civil servant for about three years. He added that her appointment letter and salary records confirmed her employment.
Yusuf argued that there was no legal basis for continued retention of the body and alleged that some individuals were trying to politicise the circumstances surrounding her death.
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He disclosed that the family had petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over the matter, asking him to intervene and direct the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police to release Habila’s remains.
The lawyer also revealed that the family had repeatedly rejected calls for an autopsy, citing cultural, traditional and personal beliefs.
“We are here to also ascertain the fact that the Minister has requested time without number for the autopsy of late Mary Habila, but the family has resolved and are determined and standing their ground not to allow it because of some personal, cultural and traditional reasons,” he said.
“It is at this point that we want to make clear to the world that Mary Habila has never been a runs girl or whatever, and she has been in Abuja working with the minister before her eventful death, and this is the truth.”
Speaking emotionally during the briefing, Habila’s father, Tanko Habila, pleaded with authorities to allow the family bury their daughter.
“I don’t have much to talk in this case; all I want is the corpse of my daughter,” he said.
“We don’t keep corpse of little children for so long like this. So, that is why I am here again to say this once and for all, I need the corpse of my daughter to take her for burial, that is what I am standing on.”
He added that the family was not accusing anyone of causing Habila’s death and said they had maintained a cordial relationship with her employers before the incident.
Also speaking, Anita Baaki, Habila’s colleague, described the death as heartbreaking and clarified that she, not the deceased, was the physiotherapist, while Habila served as a nurse.
The disagreement over the release of the body remains unresolved. While the family insists it has met all the conditions for its release and continues to oppose an autopsy, the Ebonyi State Police Command and David Umahi maintain that a post-mortem examination is necessary to determine the exact cause of death.
Umahi has insisted that Habila’s remains should not be released until the autopsy is carried out.