Family of Deceased Habila Opposes Post-Mortem Examination, Says Father

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The father of Mary Habila, the 26-year-old nurse who died at the Uburu, Ebonyi State residence of the Minister of Works, David Umahi, has explained why his family wants her corpse released for burial without an autopsy, saying prolonged delay over a child’s death is not something the family can bear.

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The father, who identified himself as Habila Wisdom, gave the explanation in an interview aired via a video shared by Trust TV News on X on Friday.

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“We don’t keep the death of a little child up to so long, just like this. So that is why I am here to say once again and for all, I need the corpse of my daughter to take her for burial. That is what I am standing on,” he said.

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He said the family’s rejection of a post-mortem was tied to that same urgency to bury her, rather than any suspicion surrounding the circumstances of her death. “That is why I said I don’t want the autopsy. That is why I am demanding the corpse of my daughter to go and bury her now,” he said.

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Asked whether the family suspected foul play, given allegations that Habila might have been assaulted at the minister’s residence, the father said he had no reason to point at anyone, describing her relationship with her workplace and the minister’s household as warm.

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“Very cordial relationship, both in her working place, in my home and everywhere,” he said. “I am not suspecting anybody because death can occur. Even as we are standing here, one can fall here now and die. So we are not suspecting anybody. It has happened, it has happened.”

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Habila was reported to have died on June 27 in a room within Umahi’s compound in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, where she and other members of the minister’s medical team had travelled for official assignments.

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The Ebonyi State Police Command said hospital authorities at the David Umahi Federal Teaching Hospital, Uburu, confirmed she was brought in dead, after which the matter was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for a comprehensive probe.

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PUNCHONLINE reported that despite the father’s position, the police have insisted that an autopsy is necessary to establish the true cause of death, a demand the family has resisted by approaching the Ebonyi State High Court to seek the withdrawal of the police investigation. n

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Umahi, who also broke his silence on Thursday, has also maintained that no foul play was involved, describing Habila as “like a daughter” who had worked with him for about three years and whose medical bills he had personally funded in the past.n

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Watch Video Here:

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𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐖𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐲 — 𝐇𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐚’𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

Credit: X | Trust TV News

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July 17, 2026

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