Mary Habila: Abuja lawyer demands arrest of Works Minister, Umahi

An Abuja-based legal practitioner and human rights activist, Barr. Ojonimi S. Apeh, has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to order the arrest of Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, pending further investigations into the death of Mary Habila.

Habila was said to have died under tragic and mysterious circumstances on June 27 at the residence of the minister. 

The deceased was a physiotherapist who worked at David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, and had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works for three years.

In a statement on Thursday, Barr. Apeh, expressed dismay that while other Nigerians are arrested and kept in custody pending investigations for minor offences, and or murder cases, the IGP is yet to order the arrest of the minister.

Apeh argued that, in many criminal investigations, suspects are sometimes detained while investigations are ongoing and questioned why the same approach had not been adopted in this case.

The statement emphasised that it was not alleging that Sen. Umahi was responsible for Habila’s death.

He stressed that the minister, like every other citizen, is entitled to the constitutional presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.

“While I am not alleging that the minister killed her and that he is innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction; by now, he should have been arrested and kept in custody pending further investigations just like other Nigerians who are in detention for minor and bailable offences,” Apeh stated.

The rights activist recalled that many ordinary Nigerians who committed bailable offences are being kept in detention pending when the police conclude their investigations, even if it takes ten years. 

He querried why the minister’s case has become different.

“We have witnessed how ladies who were invited to hotels or other places have been arrested and kept in custody by the Nigerian police pending further investigations because the man who invited them to the hotel died for no fault of the ladies but due to overdose of sexual enhancement drugs. 

“But why is Umahi being treated differently or with kid gloves for a capital offence?,” Apeh asked.

“I am therefore calling on the IGP, Olatunji Rilwan Disu to arrest Senator David Umahi and keep him in custody pending further investigations,” Apeh said.

According to the lawyer, unverified sources claimed that the minister left his residence shortly after the incident.

However, he insisted that Nigerians need to know who was with the lady when she died. 

The statement also raised questions about the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death, including who was present at the time of the incident and the sequence of events leading to her death.

“Was she being worked on or she was the one working? If she was being worked on, was it on a concrete road or asphalt road? These are some of the things Nigerians need to know,” Apeh said.

𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖/𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖