A former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has claimed that Nigeria’s former military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, died from a cardiac arrest during an intimate encounter rather than poisoning.
Amachree made the claim in his newly released memoir, DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield, excerpts of which were published on Tuesday.
According to the retired intelligence officer, who served as Assistant Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Lagos DSS Command when Abacha died in June 1998, the former military ruler suffered a fatal cardiac arrest in the early hours of June 8, 1998, while at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He rejected several conspiracy theories that have surrounded Abacha’s death for nearly three decades, insisting that the former Head of State died of natural causes during sexual intercourse.
Amachree alleged that Abacha’s girlfriend visited the Aso Rock Guest House that night alongside her younger sister, a pharmacist who was reportedly in Abuja for a conference.
He 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 Noga 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 former DSS operative claimed that around 4:05 a.m., the woman realised Abacha had suddenly become unresponsive during the encounter.
“At about 4.05 am, as they were getting intimate, the pharmacist realised Abacha had stopped moving. She called out to him, but he was unresponsive and stiff. She checked his pulse; there was none,” he wrote.
According to Amachree, the woman panicked, quickly got dressed and left the Presidential Villa after asking a soldier on duty to arrange transport back to her hotel.
He alleged that the woman travelled to Lagos on an early morning flight before security officials became aware of what had happened.
Amachree said Abacha’s Chief Security Officer, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, was informed of the situation at about 5:00 a.m., after which efforts began to locate the woman.
He added that he was later instructed by the DSS headquarters to track her down in Lagos and personally questioned her after she was brought to his office.
Recalling the interrogation, Amachree said the woman immediately denied harming the former military ruler.
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,” he wrote.
The retired intelligence officer maintained that the woman’s account remains the most accurate explanation of Abacha’s death.
“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,” he said.
It was reported that Abacha ruled Nigeria from November 1993 until his sudden death on June 8, 1998. His death has remained one of the country’s most debated political events, with various theories over the years claiming he was poisoned, including the widely circulated allegation that he died after eating poisoned apples.Nigerian current events
His regime was defined by massive corruption, siphoning an estimated $2 to $9 billion of public funds into foreign bank accounts.
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