- Al-Mustapha rejected Dennis Amachree’s account of Abacha’s death
- He claimed to have evidence contradicting the former DSS operative’s story
- The retired officer urged Nigerians to ignore what he described as false claims
Former Chief Security Officer to late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd.), has dismissed claims made by former Department of State Services (DSS) operative Dennis Amachree about the circumstances surrounding Abacha’s death.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the 3rd General Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference at Arewa House in Kaduna on Saturday, Eko Hot Blog gathered that Al-Mustapha described Amachree’s account as false and urged Nigerians to disregard it.
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His comments followed renewed public attention on Amachree’s memoir, The Shadow Warrior, in which the retired DSS officer recounted his version of the events leading to Abacha’s death on June 8, 1998.
Al-Mustapha insisted the narrative presented in the book was fabricated and did not reflect what actually happened.
He claimed to possess CCTV footage of the incident, saying the material contradicts the version contained in the memoir. However, he did not provide details about the footage or indicate whether it would be released publicly.
The retired army officer also cautioned against making allegations about a deceased person who is no longer alive to respond to such claims.
Gen. Abacha took power after a military coup on November 17, 1993, and remained Nigeria’s Head of State until his sudden death at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on June 8, 1998.
At the time, the Federal Government announced that he died following a sudden illness. However, the circumstances surrounding his death have remained the subject of debate, with former military officers, intelligence officials and political figures offering differing accounts over the years.
Amachree, who served as an Assistant Director of the DSS during the Abacha administration, recently revived the controversy through his memoir, prompting fresh reactions from individuals who served under the former military government.
Al-Mustapha, one of Abacha’s closest associates, has consistently defended the late Head of State and challenged accounts he believes misrepresent the events of that era.
The former CSO was arrested after Abacha’s death and spent several years in detention while facing charges related to the attempted murder of publisher Alex Ibru and the killing of Kudirat Abiola. He was discharged and acquitted by the Court of Appeal in 2013.
Since then, Al-Mustapha has repeatedly maintained that many allegations against the Abacha administration were politically motivated or lacked factual basis.
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