Former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd.), has dismissed claims by a former Department of State Services (DSS) operative, Dennis Amachree, about the final moments of the late military ruler.
It was reported that Amachree, a retired Assistant Director of the DSS who served during the Abacha administration, gave his version of General Abacha’s final movements a few weeks ago in a new book.
His account attracted several reactions from former officials who served under the regime and social media commentators.
However, while speaking with journalists after the Memorial Conference on General Hassan Usman Katsina, held at Arewa House, Kaduna, on Saturday, Al-Mustapha described the account as false and urged Nigerians not to believe it.
Rejecting the claims, Al-Mustapha alleged that the account was fabricated and did not reflect what happened.
“The boy was asked by others to write those lies. I have all the CCTV footage of what happened in my custody, so what he said is not true,” Al-Mustapha said.
The retired army major maintained that he possessed evidence capable of contradicting the version of events contained in the publication but did not elaborate on the footage or indicate whether he intended to make it public.
He urged Nigerians to disregard the claims, insisting that it was wrong to make allegations against a deceased person who could no longer defend himself.
“Just ignore his lies. It’s bad to say such things about someone who is dead,” he said.
Abacha, who seized power in a military coup on 17 November, 1993, ruled Nigeria until his sudden death at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on 8 June,1998.
The Federal Government announced at the time that the Head of State had died after a sudden illness, but the circumstances surrounding his death have remained one of the most controversial episodes in Nigeria’s political history.
Over the years, conflicting accounts have emerged from former military officers, intelligence operatives, diplomats and political actors, with books and interviews offering different versions of what happened during Abacha’s final hours.
Al-Mustapha, one of Abacha’s closest aides, has consistently rejected allegations and narratives he believes misrepresent the late head of state or the events of that period.
