Mary Habila's Burial Announcement Amid Ongoing Death Inquiry

Mary Habila Burial Set as Autopsy Probe Deepens in Umahi Case

physiotherapist’s burial has been fixed for 17 July, but the unanswered questions around her death inside Minister David Umahi’s residence are only growing louder.

Atlantic Post

July 14, 2026

2–3 minutes

autopsy, David Umahi, Ebonyi State, Mary Habila, physiotherapist, Police Investigation

The family of Mary Habila, the 26-year-old physiotherapist popularly known as Mara, has announced her burial for Friday, 17 July 2026, at Deeper Life Bible Church, Nok, in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, as the investigation into her death at the residence of Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, continues.

According to the family’s funeral notice reported by NewsMirror, Habila was born on 18 September 2000 and died on 27 June 2026, aged 26.

Her death has become one of the most closely watched political and criminal inquiry stories of the week because it combines three volatile elements: a young health professional, a senior federal minister’s official residence, and conflicting public accounts that now require forensic testing rather than speculation.

SaharaReporters reported that investigators are reviewing the sequence of events after Habila was found unresponsive, while police sources said the death remains under active investigation and that the body should not be released for burial before forensic work is complete.

One of the details driving public outrage is the report that Habila was found naked when her body was removed from the minister’s quarters.

That claim, first pushed by SaharaReporters, has intensified demands for transparency, although it remains an allegation within an ongoing investigation rather than a judicial finding.

The same reporting says investigators are still gathering witness statements and forensic material.

Umahi has pushed back strongly against claims of a cover-up. Speaking on Sunday, the minister said: “The family broke the girl’s door, called doctors from DUFUTH, who took her to hospital and did everything to revive her, but failed.”

He also said: “The family reported the matter to the police, so where is the secrecy?”

According to The Guardian, Umahi said he had directed an autopsy to determine the cause of death and had instructed his lawyers to begin legal action against people publishing what he described as false reports.

Vanguard, quoting a statement from Umahi’s media office, reported that Habila and Anita Baski were employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences and had been seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for the past three years.

The minister’s camp said the police were notified, medical personnel were contacted, and the family was advised to permit an autopsy to establish the exact cause of death.

That official account has not settled the matter. SaharaReporters said police investigators are still trying to establish who was present at the residence, what happened after Habila was discovered, and when emergency assistance was called.

In the same reporting, sources said lawyers acting for the minister sought the release of the body, but investigators refused, arguing that the public interest and the still-open inquiry made premature release inappropriate.

The case now sits at the intersection of law, public accountability and political reputation. In practical terms, the next critical document is the autopsy report.

Until that is released, every version of events remains provisional: the family is preparing for burial, the minister is demanding legal redress for what he calls falsehoods, and investigators are still attempting to reconstruct the final hours of a young woman whose death has become a national talking point.