Mary Habila: Why Umahi shouldn’t have spoken publicly – Sam Amadi

Political analyst and Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, Dr. Sam Amadi, has said Minister of Works, David Umahi, should not have spoken publicly about the circumstances surrounding the death of Mary Habila, insisting that the police ought to have led communication on the case.

Amadi, who weighed in on the controversy surrounding the death of the 26-year-old nurse linked to the minister, described the situation as both “a PR disaster and an ethical disaster.”

The former Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, boss stated this on Friday while fielding questions on Arise Television’s programme.

He argued that public officials facing serious allegations should step aside to allow transparent investigations, adding that the President should demand accountability from ministers in such situations.

According to him, Umahi ought to have first reported to the police and made a statement as someone closest to the deceased before addressing the public.

“You have to balance it. First, they ought to step aside when the allegations are weighty. But even if they don’t, the boss—the President—ought to demand that,” Amadi said.

“Let’s look at this case with Umahi; this is both a PR disaster and an ethical disaster. I’ve never seen a minister who doesn’t travel with nurses if they have personal medical needs, but a 26-year-old lady as a personal nurse who stays with you, travels with you, and stays in your house—and then passes away under these circumstances? That’s enough for you to go first to the police and make a statement. The police should depose you because you’re the prime suspect by virtue of proximity, whether you’re a good man or a bad man; that’s just what it is.”

Amadi further criticised the minister for holding press conferences on the matter, saying such public engagements risked undermining confidence in the investigation.

He maintained that the Nigeria Police Force should have been providing regular updates to assure the public that a transparent investigation was underway.

“Instead, he has been on a show, running press conferences, talking about the case, precluding everything. And the affidavit the parents supposedly signed to say, ‘We don’t want anything, we don’t want a press check’—anybody looking at it will say this looks like a cover-up, that these people were pressured to do it,” he said.

He also faulted the police for what he described as their silence on the matter.

“In these circumstances, what do you expect of the police first? The police have made no official statement. This is a case where the police public relations officer should be speaking, giving regular updates. That gives people confidence. Instead, they threaten warfare against everybody. That is recklessly irresponsible at the highest level,” he said.

Amadi further accused the Federal Government of failing to uphold public accountability and ethical standards.

“The fact that it appears to be tolerated is even more galling. But the point is, like I said before, this government has been proficient in disregarding public morality, proficient in cover-ups, and proficient in asserting diffidence against public ethics,” he added.