Abacha did not die during intimate encounter, insists Al-Mustapha

…says he has CCTV footage of Abacha’s final moments

 

Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to Sani Abacha, the late Head of State, has dismissed claims contained in a recently published memoir alleging that the former military ruler died during an intimate encounter with a woman, insisting he possesses CCTV footage of Abacha’s final moments.

 

Al-Mustapha made the remarks while speaking with journalists in Kaduna, describing the account by Dennis Amachree, retired Department of State Services (DSS) operative as false and politically motivated.

 

Abacha ruled Nigeria as military Head of State from November 1993 until his death in June 1998, circumstances of which have remained the subject of controversy and speculation for nearly three decades.

 

Responding to the claims contained in Amachree’s newly released memoir, DSS @ 40: My Journey Behind the Shield, Al-Mustapha maintained that the narrative was fabricated and alleged that the former intelligence officer was acting on behalf of unnamed individuals.

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“The boy was asked to write the lies by others. I have all the CCTV footages of what happened in my custody, so what he said are not true,” Al-Mustapha said.

 

He urged Nigerians to disregard the allegations, arguing that it was unfair to make unverified claims against a deceased person who could no longer defend himself.

 

“Just ignore his lies. It’s bad to say such things about someone that is dead

 

 

“But I want to assure you that the author of the book is acting out a script. He is not acting alone.

 

“At the appropriate time, I will respond to these lies. You don’t tell your enemies your plans”, he said.

 

Al-Mustapha has, over the years, consistently rejected popular accounts surrounding Abacha’s death.

 

He has previously claimed that the late military ruler died after shaking hands with a security operative attached to a visiting foreign dignitary, suggesting foul play rather than natural causes.

 

His latest comments come in response to revelations contained in Amachree’s 348-page memoir, where the retired DSS officer claimed that Abacha died in the early hours of June 8, 1998, after suffering what he described as a coitus-induced cardiac arrest.

 

According to Amachree, the incident occurred inside the Presidential Villa Guest House at Aso Rock and involved a Nigerian pharmacist.

 

“The lady pharmacist on whom Abacha apparently had a coitus-induced cardiac arrest, remains the true position and puts an end to the conspiracy theories and half-truths that have gone viral,” Amachree wrote in the memoir.

 

 

Abacha died less than a month before the death of Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, widely regarded as the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election.

 

Abiola was being held in detention by the Abacha military government on charges of treason and insurrection after declaring himself the rightful winner of the election, before he also died in government custody in July 1998.