Political analyst and Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, Dr. Sam Amadi, has criticised the handling of the controversy surrounding the death of 26-year-old nurse, Mary Habila, saying Minister of Works, David Umahi, should have allowed the police to take the lead in communicating with the public.
Amadi described the situation as both a “public relations disaster and an ethical disaster,” insisting that the minister should have first made a statement to the police before addressing the media.
The former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, made the remarks on Friday during an interview on Arise Television.
According to him, public officials facing serious allegations should temporarily step aside to enable transparent investigations, while the President should ensure ministers are held accountable in such circumstances.
“You have to balance it. First, they ought to step aside when the allegations are weighty. But even if they don’t, the boss—the President—ought to demand that,” Amadi said.
Speaking on Umahi’s handling of the matter, he added: “Let’s look at this case with Umahi; this is both a PR disaster and an ethical disaster. I’ve never seen a minister who doesn’t travel with nurses if they have personal medical needs, but a 26-year-old lady as a personal nurse who stays with you, travels with you, and stays in your house—and then passes away under these circumstances? That’s enough for you to go first to the police and make a statement. The police should depose you because you’re the prime suspect by virtue of proximity, whether you’re a good man or a bad man; that’s just what it is.”
Amadi also faulted the minister for granting interviews and holding press conferences while the circumstances surrounding the nurse’s death remain under scrutiny, arguing that such actions could undermine public confidence in the investigation.
According to him, the Nigeria Police Force should have been providing regular updates on the case to reassure Nigerians that an impartial investigation was ongoing.
“Instead, he has been on a show, running press conferences, talking about the case, precluding everything. And the affidavit the parents supposedly signed to say, ‘We don’t want anything, we don’t want a press check’—anybody looking at it will say this looks like a cover-up, that these people were pressured to do it,” he said.
The political analyst further criticised the police for what he described as a lack of official communication on the matter.
“In these circumstances, what do you expect of the police first? The police have made no official statement. This is a case where the police public relations officer should be speaking, giving regular updates. That gives people confidence. Instead, they threaten warfare against everybody. That is recklessly irresponsible at the highest level,” Amadi stated.
He also accused the Federal Government of failing to uphold public accountability and ethical standards.
“The fact that it appears to be tolerated is even more galling. But the point is, like I said before, this government has been proficient in disregarding public morality, proficient in cover-ups, and proficient in asserting diffidence against public ethics,” he added.
