The Ebonyi State Police Command insists on conducting a professional autopsy on a nurse who died mysteriously at the country home of Works Minister David Umahi, despite direct opposition from the deceased’s family.
The Police Command in Ebonyi State has officially contracted a professional pathologist to perform a post-mortem autopsy on Miss Mary Habila to uncover the actual cause of her sudden and mysterious death.
The deceased, a registered nurse on active secondment to the Ministry of Works, reportedly lost her life under unclear circumstances while staying at the country home of the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, in Uburu.
Given the highly sensitive nature of the incident, the state police command declared that the clinical examination is an indispensable step in its active homicide and casualty investigation.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the Ebonyi Command, SP Joshua Ukandu, revealed the details of the ongoing investigation in an official statement released in Abakaliki on Thursday.
According to the police spokesperson, the command first received a distress call on June 27 from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Ohaozara Division.
The DPO was alerted to a severe medical emergency involving Habila within the minister’s compound and was requested to meet the evacuation team at the David Umahi Federal Teaching Hospital in Uburu. However, upon the DPO’s arrival at the tertiary medical facility, clinical authorities confirmed that the young nurse had been brought in dead.
The suspicious nature of the death prompted the state Commissioner of Police to instantly transfer the file to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for a rigorous, high-level probe.
Preliminary detective work confirmed that Habila and a colleague were part of the specialized medical team accompanying Senator Umahi to his rural home, where she was eventually found unresponsive in one of the residential guest rooms.
Investigators have already cordoned off and visited the scene, gathered physical evidence, and taken detailed statements from all key individuals present in the compound.
While the police are pushing for immediate scientific clarity, SP Ukandu disclosed that the family of the deceased nurse has expressed strong opposition to conducting an autopsy on their daughter.
Despite the family’s reluctance, the police command maintained that a forensic autopsy remains legally and procedurally necessary to eliminate foul play, establish a transparent timeline, and address the public interest surrounding the high-profile location of her passing.
The command is currently awaiting the physical presence of the deceased’s family or their legally authorized representatives, which is required by protocol before the pathologist can commence the anatomical examination.
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