EXCLUSIVE: Body Of Woman Who Died At Minister Umahi's House Yet To Be Released As Ebonyi DPP Says Only Autopsy Can Determine Cause Of Death

A source familiar with the investigation told SaharaReporters that the body remains in the custody of the authorities following the DPP's legal advice, which concluded that a post-mortem examination was necessary to determine the cause of Habila's death and guide the ongoing police investigation.

The body of 26-year-old physiotherapist Mary Habila, who died at the residence of Nigeria's Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has yet to be released to her family after the Ebonyi State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) advised that only a post-mortem examination can establish the cause of her sudden death, SaharaReporters has learnt.

A source familiar with the investigation told SaharaReporters that the body remains in the custody of the authorities following the DPP's legal advice, which concluded that a post-mortem examination was necessary to determine the cause of Habila's death and guide the ongoing police investigation.

In a legal advice exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, dated July 15, 2026, and addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, Ebonyi State Police Command, the Director of Public Prosecutions, J.U. Chukwu, said he had reviewed the case file relating to the "sudden and unnatural death" of Habila.