A former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has revealed a sensational account of the final moments of Nigeria’s former military ruler, General Sani Abacha, claiming the late Head of State died during an intimate encounter at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Amachree, who served as Assistant Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Lagos DSS command when Abacha died in June 1998, made the revelation in his new book titled ‘DSS @40: My journey behind the shield’.
According to his account, Abacha died at about 4:05am while with a woman at the Aso Rock Guest House, after suffering what he described as a cardiac arrest during intercourse.
The former DSS officer said the woman, a pharmacist whose identity was withheld, was the younger sister of Abacha’s girlfriend and had accompanied her sister to the Villa on the night of the incident.
According to excerpts from the book, Amachree wrote:
“At approximately 2.40 am, shortly after Gen. Useni left, Abacha’s girlfriend, an Igbo lady (name withheld), arrived at the Aso Rock Guest House from the Nicon Nogs Hilton Hotel.”
“With her was her younger sister, a pharmacist who was in Abuja for a conference. The Head of State had just bought his girlfriend a new SUV, and they decided to stop by to say hello to ‘Oga’.”
“Abacha was taken with the younger sister, and after a short while, the girlfriend returned to the hotel, leaving the pharmacist alone with the Head of State.”
The retired DSS officer claimed the woman later noticed that Abacha had stopped responding during their encounter.
“At about 4.05 am, as they were getting intimate, the pharmacist realized Abacha had stopped moving. She called out to him, but he was unresponsive and stiff. She checked his pulse; there was none.”
Amachree said the woman panicked, dressed up and left the guest house, telling a soldier on duty that Abacha had requested a vehicle to take her back to her hotel.
“In a state of panic, she quickly dressed and left the guest house, telling the soldier in guard duty that ‘Oga’ had asked for a car to take her back to her hotel.”
He added that the woman returned to the Hilton Hotel before being taken to the airport, where she boarded an early morning flight to Lagos.
“The soldier, unaware of the gravity of the situation, promptly arranged for her transportation. She returned to the Hilton, and after telling her sister what had happened, was quickly driven to the Abuja Airport to catch the 7.am Okada Airline flight to Lagos.”
Amachree said security officials later launched a search for the woman after learning of Abacha’s deteriorating condition.
“This is the window Major Al-Mustapha missed. When he was finally informed of Abacha’s instability at 5 am, he asked who had been with the General. He was told about the girlfriend’s younger sister, whom they had just dropped off at the Hilton.”
“The State Security Service (SSS) was immediately informed and went to the Hilton to arrest the girlfriend, but the pharmacist they urgently needed was already on her way to Lagos.”
The former DSS official said he personally interrogated the woman in Lagos and recalled her first words during questioning.
“My team located and brought her to my office. I interrogated her myself.”
“The first thing she said to me was : ‘I did not kill him, he died on top of me.’ After her detailed account, I called the Director in Abuja, and she was immediately flown back.”
Amachree insisted that the woman’s account was the true explanation behind Abacha’s death, dismissing years of speculation and conspiracy theories surrounding the incident.
“The lady pharmacist’s account, 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.”
Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from November 1993 until his death in June 1998, died about a month before the death of MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election. His death has remained the subject of several controversies and conspiracy theories over the years.
