₦20 Billion Showdown: SOKAPU Drags Umahi To Court Over Mary Habila Case

The Incorporated Trustees of the Southern Kaduna Peoples’ United Associations (SOKAPU) have instituted a lawsuit against the Minister of Works, David Umahi, over the death of Mary Habila, a nurse who was attached to his medical team.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Habila died on June 27 while at the minister’s residence, an incident that has continued to generate public concern and renewed calls for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.

The Ebonyi State Police Command had earlier announced plans to conduct an autopsy despite reported objections from members of Habila’s family.

Umahi had also written to the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, requesting that an autopsy be carried out to determine the exact cause of the nurse’s death.

In the suit filed before the Federal High Court in Kaduna, SOKAPU named the minister, Habila’s father, Habila Tanko Wisdom, the Attorney-General of Ebonyi State and the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police as respondents.

The association is seeking ₦20 billion in damages from Umahi, alleging that Habila’s death resulted from a breach of the duty of care owed to her while she was under the minister’s supervision.

SOKAPU is also asking the court to declare that the nurse died under “unexplained, controversial and unnatural circumstances.”

According to the association, the alleged removal of Habila’s body to a mortuary without first making a formal report to the Nigeria Police Force violated her constitutional right to life.

The group based its argument on Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

SOKAPU Seeks Independent Autopsy

The association further urged the court to rule that the alleged failure to promptly conduct an independent and transparent autopsy, alongside a proper police investigation, constitutes a continuing violation of Habila’s fundamental rights.

It is asking the court to direct the Ebonyi State Attorney-General and the Commissioner of Police to facilitate an independent and impartial autopsy.

According to the suit, the examination should be conducted by a panel of pathologists and medical experts drawn from the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria; the University College Hospital, Ibadan; and the National Hospital, Abuja.

SOKAPU also wants the court to order the Nigeria Police Force to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death before her remains are released to her family for burial.