Nigeria Physiotherapy Society contradicts Minister Umahi’s claim, says late Mary Habila not listed as registered physiotherapist

The Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy has directly contradicted Minister David Umahi’s account of Mary Habila’s professional identity, revealing that her name does not appear in the database of registered physiotherapists — deepening the mystery surrounding her controversial death at the minister’s Ebonyi residence.

The Mary Habila case just got a significant new twist — and it strikes at the heart of the minister’s own narrative.

The Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP) on Thursday dropped a bombshell: the name Mary Habila does not appear anywhere in the database of registered physiotherapists in Nigeria.

“Following verification through the appropriate regulatory channels, the name ‘Mary Habila,’ as stated, does not appear on the database of registered physiotherapists,” the NSP said in a statement issued by its Public Relations Team.

Sahara Reporters reports that the disclosure directly contradicts the position of Minister of Works David Umahi, whose Senior Special Assistant Francis Nwaze had stated on Saturday that Habila and a colleague, Anita Baski, were physiotherapists employed by the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS), Uburu, seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works for the past three years.

“Miss Mary Habila and Miss Anita Baski are employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, who had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for the past three years until the unfortunate passing of Miss Habila,” Umahi had said.

The NSP was pointed in its rebuke of how the claims were handled. “Public office carries with it a responsibility to ensure that information placed before Nigerians is accurate and verifiable,” it stated, stressing that “professional identity is not a matter of assumption or public perception; it is a matter of verifiable fact.”

The society called on all stakeholders to resolve credential questions through “appropriate regulatory processes, not through speculation or unverified claims,” adding that “the public deserves accuracy.”

Habila died on June 27 under deeply controversial circumstances at Umahi’s residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State, with police insisting a forensic autopsy is essential before her body is released for burial.