Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, on Thursday said that Miss Mary Habila, the nurse who died at a guest house within his residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State, spoke with her boyfriend on the night before her death and complained of a nosebleed.

Umahi, who addressed journalists for the first time since the incident, described the late Habila as “like a daughter” to him and called for an autopsy to determine the actual cause of her death.

Habila, a nurse with the David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences, Uburu, died on June 27, 2026, in a guest house located within the minister’s residence in Umunaga, Uburu.

The minister clarified that the deceased was a nurse and not a physiotherapist, as had been reported in some media outlets.

” The lady in question was like a daughter to me. She had stayed with me for three years. She was a staff of the Federal Medical University. She was a nurse and not a physiotherapist,” Umahi said.

Narrating the events leading to her death, Umahi said Habila spoke with her boyfriend on the night before she was found dead and informed him that she was experiencing a nosebleed.

She told the boyfriend she was bleeding from the nose. The boyfriend advised her to report it to her boss. She later told him the bleeding had stopped.

“He then said he would end the call so she could rest. She pleaded with him not to end the conversation, but he did.

About three minutes later, he called back and she was no longer answering her phone,” the minister said.

He further disclosed that Habila had been receiving treatment for an undisclosed medical condition at Turkish Hospital in Abuja, with the medical expenses paid by his family.

The Sokoto State Government said on Thursday 92 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the state’s 23 local government areas have attained national compliance standards under the Safe Delivery Initiative (SDI).

In a statement the government assured that all 244 designated facilities would be upgraded before the end of 2026.

Speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Sokoto, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Faruk Umar Abubakar, said that the initiative was transforming primary healthcare through improved infrastructure, skilled manpower, essential medicines and stronger accountability.

“Today, we are launching the third phase of the Safe Delivery Initiative with 75 facilities that have fulfilled all the national requirements. Together with those completed in the earlier phases, we now have 92 functional and compliant primary healthcare centres,” he said.

He said the upgraded facilities now operate in line with the standards of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, with skilled birth attendants, functional labour wards, essential drugs, medical equipment and improved infrastructure.

Image: Nurse Mary Habila; David Umahi, Minister of Works

The police command in Ebonyi said that the family of Mary Habila, the nurse who died at the residence of David Umahi, Minister of Works, do not want an autopsy conducted.

In a statement on Thursday, Joshua Ukandu, Ebonyi police spokesperson, said that the command is set to engage the services of a pathologist to conduct the post-mortem examination on the deceased’s body.

Ukandu said the command believes that due to the sensitivity of the matter, the procedure is imperative to establish the true cause of Habila’s death.

The Ebonyi police spokesperson said that the divisional police officer (DPO) of Ohaozara division received a distress call on June 27, 2026, and requested his presence at the David Umahi Federal Teaching Hospital, Uburu for a medical emergency.

Ukandu said when the DPO arrived at the hospital, he was informed by authorities that the deceased was brought in dead on the day.

“Preliminary findings indicate that the deceased and a colleague were part of the medical team attached to the Honourable Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, and had accompanied him to his hometown in Uburu, where she died in a room within the compound of his residence.

“The Command has since commenced a comprehensive investigation. Detectives have visited the scene and obtained statements from relevant persons,” said the statement.