Former Chief Security Officer to late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd.), has dismissed claims by a retired Department of State Services operative, Dennis Amachree, on the circumstances surrounding the former military ruler's death.
Al-Mustapha described Amachree's account as false, urging Nigerians to disregard it. He spoke with journalists on the sidelines of the 3rd General Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference held at Arewa House in Kaduna.
Amachree, in his recently published memoir titled DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield, claimed that Abacha died from cardiac arrest during an intimate encounter at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in the early hours of June 8, 1998. The former DSS officer, who served as Assistant Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Lagos Command at the time, said the incident occurred around 4:05 a.m.
Reacting to the claim, Al-Mustapha insisted that the account was fabricated and did not reflect what transpired during Abacha's final hours.
He further claimed to possess CCTV footage that contradicts the version presented in the memoir but did not indicate whether he would release the material to the public.
According to him, the former DSS officer was influenced to write falsehoods about the late military leader, maintaining that the narrative contained in the book was inaccurate.
Al-Mustapha also appealed to Nigerians to ignore the allegations, arguing that it was unfair to make damaging claims against a deceased person who could no longer respond to the accusations.
Abacha seized power through a military coup on November 17, 1993, and remained Nigeria's Head of State until his death at the Presidential Villa on June 8, 1998. The Federal Government announced at the time that he died after a sudden illness.
Nearly three decades later, the circumstances surrounding his death remain a subject of controversy, with former military officers, intelligence officials, diplomats and political figures offering conflicting accounts in books and public interviews.
Al-Mustapha, regarded as one of Abacha's closest aides during his administration, has consistently rejected narratives he believes misrepresent the late Head of State or the events leading to his death.
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