EXCLUSIVE(SAHARA REPORTERS): Payroll Confirms Mary Habila, Anita Baaki on Umahi University Staff Amidst Death Investigation

An exclusive payroll document recently uncovered by SaharaReporters has verified that Mary Habila, now deceased, and her colleague, Anita Baaki, were officially employed by the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS) in Uburu, Ebonyi State. Their salaries were disbursed via the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), a federal government platform.

This document emerged amidst increasing public scrutiny regarding Habila's demise on June 27 at the Uburu residence of Nigeria's Minister of Works, David Umahi. It lends credence to previous assertions that both women were on the university's staff roster, even while seemingly assigned to the minister's official duties. The latest disclosure adds to the mounting questions surrounding Habila's death and the specifics of her engagement at the university.

Earlier reports from SaharaReporters, citing multiple university sources, indicated that Habila was hired as a Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW) and allegedly placed on the DUFUHS payroll through the influence of Minister David Umahi. This contradicts a prior claim by the minister's aide, who stated she was a physiotherapist. A review of the payroll record by SaharaReporters confirmed both Habila and Baaki were listed as university staff and received payments through IPPIS. Sources close to the situation told SaharaReporters, "Umahi made sure they were both paid through the University and placed on the payroll."

The payroll also supports earlier accounts that Baaki, who was with Habila just before her death and later submitted a sworn affidavit detailing the events, was also employed by DUFUHS. The document further reveals that both women were among 549 staff members listed without National Housing Fund (NHF) account numbers. Mary Habila is recorded as number 508 with IPPIS number DU2500148, while Anita Baaki Mlumun is listed at number 474 with IPPIS number DU250044.

University sources had previously informed SaharaReporters that Habila's qualifications were for a CHEW, not a physiotherapist. One source stated, "The lady in question was a CHEW (Community Health Extension Worker) by qualifications and not a physiotherapist. She was drafted into the university payroll by Umahi." Another source alleged, "The lady was not qualified as a physiotherapist but because of her relationship with Umahi, he found a way." These sources also claimed that before her university employment, Habila spent most of her time at Umahi's Uburu residence and continued to do so afterwards, with one source noting, "We are not sure of what she did in the house exactly but she was well known in the residence."

These revelations follow the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP) publicly denying that Habila was a physiotherapist. The professional body stated that a verification of her credentials through regulatory channels confirmed her name was not in the database of registered physiotherapists. The NSP emphasized that professional identities must be established through recognized processes and urged public officials to verify claims before making public statements. This clarification directly contradicted a July 11 statement from Minister Umahi's Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, who had asserted that Habila and Baaki were DUFUHS physiotherapists on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works for three years.

Subsequently, Baaki filed a sworn affidavit before the High Court of Ebonyi State on July 15, 2026, offering her firsthand account of the events leading to Habila's death. In her affidavit, sworn at the High Court Registry in Abakaliki, Baaki stated she had worked with Umahi since his tenure as Ebonyi State Governor, before her employment at DUFUHS, and had been close friends with Habila, working together under the Minister of Works for approximately three years. She recalled that she, Habila, and other ministerial staff traveled from Abuja to Ebonyi on June 24, 2026, days before Habila was discovered unconscious in her locked room.

Habila's death remains under intense public scrutiny and an active police investigation. The Ebonyi State Police Command insists on a forensic autopsy before releasing her body for burial, following legal advice from the Ebonyi State Director of Public Prosecutions, J.U. Chukwu. The DPP highlighted that a post-mortem examination is crucial for determining the cause of her sudden and unexplained death, noting evidence that Habila "laid lifeless on the floor of her apartment naked with blood stain on her nose and mouth." While advising the police to proceed with the examination, the DPP acknowledged their discretion to honor the family's wishes. The dispute over the autopsy has led Habila's family to indefinitely postpone her burial.

Her father, Wisdom Habila, has repeatedly appealed to authorities for his daughter's remains, stating the family does not desire an autopsy and is not accusing anyone of causing her death. "I don't have much to talk about in this case. All that I want is the corpse of my daughter," he publicly declared, adding, "We don't keep the body of a little child for so long like this. That is why I'm here to say once again and for all, I need the corpse of my daughter to take her for burial." The family has also formally opposed the autopsy through an affidavit filed with the High Court of Ebonyi State, requesting Habila's body be released intact. Minister Umahi, denying any wrongdoing, has stated he requested a comprehensive forensic autopsy to ascertain the cause of death and urged the public to allow investigators to conclude their work. Police inquiries into the circumstances of Habila's death are ongoing.