SOKAPU alleges threat from Minister David Umahi this Wednesday. The prominent Southern Kaduna Peoples Union claimed the top government official directly intimidated its national president in Abuja following aggressive legal actions initiated over the suspicious death of a young nurse in Ebonyi. This escalating multi-billion-naira legal battle has now sparked immense outrage across the region.
The socio-cultural organization recently filed an originating motion at the High Court of Kaduna seeking a comprehensive independent autopsy on late Nurse Mary Habila. Leadership confirmed that the deceased civil servant died under highly unnatural circumstances on June 27, 2026, while working at the minister’s country home.
SOKAPU National President, Engr. Samuel Tabara Kato, told our correspondent that the group will never cave in to high-handed executive intimidation. “The minister called me directly on the phone and told me ‘I will deal with you, teach you a lesson’ for dragging his reputation to the court,” Kato said during an emergency press briefing. The group vowed to see the legal battle through to its logical conclusion despite these severe personal warnings.
The legal team representing the aggrieved family joined the Ebonyi Commissioner of Police and the State Attorney-General as co-respondents in the contentious suit. The litigants are demanding a staggering sum of N20 billion in general damages citing gross negligence and a flagrant breach of the minister’s duty of care. The legal documents filed under suite number KDH/KAF/2026 assert that the rushed burial plans without an independent medical evaluation violate fundamental rights to life.
Consequently, forensic experts from Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital are being proposed to lead an independent examination of the remains. This comprehensive legal intervention aims to unearth the true cause of the sudden demise.
- Complete suspension of any secret burial arrangements until a transparent medical investigation is fully concluded.
- Comprehensive forensic autopsy conducted by an independent team of pathologists from three premier teaching hospitals.
- Payment of N20 billion in exemplary damages to the deceased nurse’s immediate family for extreme psychological trauma.
- Full disclosure of all official police statements taken from household staff present at the country home on June 27, 2026.
Public interest in the unfolding political crisis continues to grow rapidly across both Kaduna and Ebonyi. Human rights lawyers noted that public officials must remain accountable to the rule of law rather than utilizing state apparatus to threaten civic organizations. The Minister of Works previously maintained that the late nurse was treated like a biological daughter and welcomed full investigations to clear his name. However, the sudden escalation into direct personal threats has shifted the public conversation toward absolute state protection for civic leaders.
“No amount of executive intimidation or verbal threats will stop us from seeking absolute justice for our daughter who died under mysterious circumstances.”
The High Court in Kafanchan will announce a formal hearing date for the originating motion early next week. Legal defense teams for the respondents are already assembling in Abuja to file their preliminary counter-affidavits ahead of the judicial showdown. Meanwhile, local civil society coalitions are planning solidarity marches to monitor the transparency of the upcoming court sessions. Will the federal administration intervene to ensure the safety of civic leaders, or will the legal precedent permanently reshape how cases of unexplained deaths involving high-ranking officials are prosecuted in Nigeria?
