By Kolawole Omotola Olaide
A fresh debate has erupted over the death of Nigeria’s former Head of State, General Sani Abacha, following a public exchange between former Department of State Services (DSS) Director, Dennis Amachree, and the late military ruler’s former Chief Security Officer, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd.).
The controversy stems from Amachree’s recently published memoir, DSS@40: My Journey Behind the Shield, in which he presented his account of the events leading to Abacha’s death on June 8, 1998.
According to Amachree, the former military leader suffered a heart-related medical emergency during a private encounter. The account has generated widespread reactions and renewed public interest in the circumstances surrounding Abacha’s death.
However, Al-Mustapha has dismissed the claims, insisting that the version contained in the memoir does not accurately reflect what transpired during Abacha’s final hours.
The former Chief Security Officer also maintained that CCTV recordings from the Presidential Villa captured events surrounding the late Head of State’s last moments, suggesting that such footage would provide a clearer picture of what occurred.
Responding to the assertion, Amachree challenged Al-Mustapha to make the alleged recordings available to the public if they indeed exist, arguing that documentary evidence would be more convincing than verbal denials.
He also defended the credibility of his memoir, stating that the publication underwent the necessary editorial and review processes before its release and was based on his professional experience during his years in the security service.
The disagreement has once again revived long-standing public interest in the circumstances surrounding Abacha’s sudden death at the Presidential Villa in Abuja in 1998, just months before Nigeria’s return to democratic rule.
Over the years, several accounts and speculations have emerged regarding the incident, but no publicly available evidence has conclusively established the exact sequence of events leading to the former military ruler’s death.
As of the time of filing this report, the CCTV footage referenced by Al-Mustapha had not been made public, leaving the conflicting accounts unresolved.
