The Umahi Affair and other Issues in the Land – Hope O’Rukevbe EGHAGHA

The news of the death of a young lady, Ms. Mary Habila, a 26-year-old nurse/physiotherapist, in the country home of former Ebonyi State governor and incumbent Minister of Works, David Umahi, was a bomb on social media. What a stir it caused. A stir? No. An uproar. Ninety-nine percent of commentators came down hard on the beleaguered Minister.

Nigerians distrust all public officers. It is often a case of them and us! This was quite evident from the pungent reactions of social media activists. As far as they are concerned, all public office holders are thieves, liars, cheats, scoundrels, and oppressors. It doesn’t matter that some benefit directly or indirectly these lootings. Scream loud they must once the least opportunity offers itself.

Even before the facts were established, or without establishing the facts the people had already judged and found the Minister complicit in the mysterious death of Citizen Mary. Some called for his resignation. Some implied a ritual must have taken place. Others called for his arrest. Whatever one’s position, the incident and its after math raised a lot of questions.

Any man whose female visitor dies in his house is in big trouble. Especially in Nigeria. Ritual murder? Sex escapade gone bad? It is only God that can completely exonerate the man from guilt. Even if a court of law finds the man not guilty, there are some diehards who would stick to the murder-complicit angle of the matter. So, I pity the poor minister. In the court of public opinion, he is guilty as charged, even when there is no hard evidence.

Already, a civil society organization the Kwechiri Unity Forum has filed a suit against Mr. Umahi. Their prayers to the court are telling. Aside from the IGP, they also added the Ebonyi State Police Commissioner, the Attorney General of the federation, and Tanko Habila, father of Ms. Habila as defendants. The group has asked the court to order the IGP and the Nigeria Police to investigate the death of Ms. Habila by conducting an autopsy. They want the court to declare that ‘public authorities have a duty to protect evidence that may aid an investigation into unexplained deaths. They also prayed the court to ‘grant an interim injunction, restraining the respondents from releasing, burying, interring, cremating or otherwise disposing of the body of the late Mary Habila pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

What is the standard procedure when death occurs in controversial circumstances? What should be police response? Did Umahi report the matter to the police? Did Mary suffer from nose-bleeding usually? How did the minister discover that she complained about nose bleeding? Why did he touch her phone? Should the host be invited for interrogation? Arrested? If the death had occurred in the house of an average Nigerian, would the police take the same posture? Does the father of Mary have the right to rule out autopsy if the state says that the truth must be established? What should be the position of the government? What happens if the man dies in his house while entertaining a woman? Would she be allowed to go Scot free? Was late Abacha’s last female guest before left this world arrested? Why has the state not insisted on an autopsy? Questions. Many questions.

If I were President, the question why David Umahi again? With another woman? This would certainly come to my mind. Recall that a lady fought rough and dirty with Umahi over unpaid claims and accused him of sexual harassment. That encounter left the image of Umahi bruised, battered, and dented. Fortunately, the matter was managed outside public glare. This time, it involves life and death! What exactly is going on?

There was this young man I knew in my undergraduate years whose girlfriend always visited and stayed over. He lived in the outer compound of an uncle of mine. Fast forward to two years later. I asked after him and I was told he was detained by the police. The lady moved on after a clash. He also moved on. Months later, she died while procuring an abortion. The boyfriend had a hard time convincing the police that he had no hand in the matter!

The sad case of Justice Donald Ikomi also came to my mind. Justice Ikomi was a highly respected judge in the old Bendel State. On July 5th 1985 the body of a policeman attached to the judge was found in the home of the judge. It was the resident cook that found the mutilated body of the policeman and reported to the judge. Police investigations confirmed that the man died of strangulation. His scrotum was missing from the body.

Justice Ikomi, the cook and a third man were charged for murder. How they hastily concluded that the judge carried out a ritual killing of a policeman attached to guard him is befuddling. In November, the federal government sacked Justice Ikomi from the bench in order to ‘uphold the dignity of the judiciary! After delay over jurisdiction, the trial started and slated to last for ten days. The prosecutors tendered 40 exhibits and called 19 witnesses to testify. Justice Ikomi and the other accused persons testified in their own defence. Over fifty lawyers led by the then doyen of the bar Chief Rotimi Williams (SAN) appeared in defence of Justice Ikomi. In the end, the judge ruled that there was not enough evidence to convict the accused persons. Justice Ikomi was discharged and acquitted. The general belief was that Justice Ikomi was set up because he refused to compromise his stance in the trial of a robber Kingsley Eweka of the Bini royal family.

In the experiences which I have recalled, the accused were arrested, while investigation was ongoing. So, that Umahi was not questioned by the police shows favoritism. If the man involved were from the opposition, he would be in real soup. Nobody is above the law.

It is in Umahi’s interest for the matter to be properly examined, investigated, and settled. The state should overrule Mary’s father on the autopsy. The state has the power to do so. For the public good and for transparency, the cause of death should be scientifically established.