According to a report by Daily Trust on Friday, July 17, 2026, the family of the late Mary Habila has intensified efforts to recover her remains, submitting a formal petition to the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, over the continued retention of her body following her death at the country residence of the Minister of Works, David Umahi.
The petition, delivered at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Friday, also accuses the Ebonyi State Police Command of delaying the release of the 26-year-old nurse’s body despite the family’s compliance with all procedures required for its collection.
Representing the family, lawyer Kaile Adamu Yusuf said the relatives have firmly rejected any request for a post-mortem examination, explaining that their decision is based on longstanding religious, cultural and traditional convictions.
He maintained that the family remains united in its position and wants the authorities to respect those beliefs.
Yusuf also sought to clarify Habila’s professional background, stating that she was a registered nurse employed by David Umahi University of Health Sciences before she was deployed to serve in the minister’s office.
According to him, she had worked there for approximately three years before her death.
He expressed concern over what he described as attempts to distort the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death, noting that inaccurate claims about her occupation and personal life had fuelled unnecessary public controversy.
He added that the family believes the issue has attracted undue political attention, distracting from their desire to bury their daughter peacefully.
The lawyer insisted that the family’s only objective is to recover Habila’s remains and proceed with funeral arrangements without further delay.
He argued that continued withholding of the body has prolonged the family’s grief and emotional suffering.
Habila’s father, Tanko Habila Wisdom, also appealed directly to the police to release his daughter’s body, stressing that the family does not suspect anyone in connection with her death.
He reaffirmed their opposition to an autopsy and urged the authorities to allow them to conduct her burial according to their customs.
Habila said, “I am demanding the corpse of my daughter to go and bury her now. We don’t want that autopsy that they are talking about and I am not suspecting anybody because death can occur. Even as we are standing here, one can fall here now and die.”
He further appealed to members of the public to refrain from politicising the incident, saying the family simply wants to give their daughter a dignified and peaceful farewell…See_More
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