Abacha died of cardiac arrest during intercourse, not poisoning — Ex-DSS Chief

Former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has provided a fresh account of the death of Nigeria’s former Head of State, General Sani Abacha.

He claimed the late military ruler died from a cardiac arrest during an intimate encounter at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Amachree made the revelation in his newly released memoir, DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield, offering what he described as the true account of the circumstances surrounding Abacha’s controversial death on June 8, 1998.

Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from November 1993 until his death in office, has remained one of the country’s most controversial leaders, with his demise giving rise to numerous conspiracy theories over the years.

According to excerpts of the book published by The Nation, Amachree, who was serving as Assistant Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Lagos DSS Command at the time, said Abacha died at about 4:05 a.m. while in the company of a female pharmacist at the Aso Rock Guest House.

He explained that the woman had accompanied her elder sister, described as Abacha’s girlfriend, to the Presidential Villa after the Head of State reportedly purchased a new SUV for the elder sister.

Amachree said the elder sister later returned to her hotel, leaving the pharmacist alone with Abacha.

He wrote that shortly after they became intimate, the woman noticed that the military ruler had suddenly become motionless and unresponsive.

According to him, the pharmacist checked Abacha’s pulse but found none before hurriedly dressing up and requesting a vehicle back to her hotel.

“The soldier on duty, unaware of what had happened, arranged transportation for her,” Amachree wrote.

He added that after informing her elder sister about the incident, the pharmacist was immediately taken to the Abuja airport, where she boarded a 7:00 a.m. Okada Air flight to Lagos.

Amachree disclosed that Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, Abacha’s Chief Security Officer, was informed of the president’s condition around 5:00 a.m. and immediately sought to locate the woman who had been with him.

However, by the time security operatives arrived at the Hilton Hotel in Abuja, the pharmacist had already departed for Lagos.

The retired DSS officer said he later received instructions from the DSS headquarters in Abuja to locate and interrogate the woman in Lagos.

According to him, she was traced to Ogudu and brought to his office for questioning.

Amachree recalled that her first words during the interrogation were: “I did not kill him, he died on top of me.”

He said after obtaining her detailed statement, he contacted the DSS headquarters, after which the woman was flown back to Abuja.

The former intelligence officer maintained that the pharmacist’s account supports the conclusion that Abacha suffered a coitus-induced cardiac arrest.

He argued that the testimony dismisses several longstanding claims surrounding the former military ruler’s death, including allegations that he was poisoned with an apple or died after being entertained by foreign women.

Amachree insisted that the account presented in his book reflects the actual events and should put to rest decades of speculation over Abacha’s final moments.

General Sani Abacha died on June 8, 1998, after nearly five years in power. His death came less than a month before the death of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, the presumed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, who died in detention while under the Abacha regime.

𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖/𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖