Al-Mustapha Dismisses Ex-DSS Operative’s Claims on Abacha’s Death
Former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd.), has dismissed claims made by former Department of State Services operative, Dennis Amachree, regarding the circumstances surrounding the late military ruler’s death.
Al-Mustapha described the account as false and urged Nigerians to disregard it.
He spoke with journalists on the sidelines of the 3rd General Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference held at Arewa House in Kaduna on Saturday.
His reaction followed renewed public attention on Amachree’s memoir, The Shadow Warrior, in which the retired DSS officer reportedly detailed his account of the events leading to Abacha’s death on June 8, 1998.
Rejecting the claims, Al-Mustapha alleged that the account was fabricated and did not reflect what transpired.
“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 disproving the version of events contained in the publication but did not provide further details on the alleged footage or indicate whether he intended to release it publicly.
He also urged Nigerians not to accept the claims, arguing that it was unfair to make allegations against a deceased person who could no longer respond.
“Just ignore his lies. It’s bad to say such things about someone who is dead,” he added.
Gen. Sani Abacha, who assumed power through a military coup on November 17, 1993, ruled Nigeria until his sudden death at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on June 8, 1998.
At the time, the Federal Government announced that the Head of State had died after a sudden illness. However, the circumstances surrounding his death have remained one of the most controversial episodes in Nigeria’s political history.
Over the years, differing accounts have emerged from former military officers, intelligence operatives, diplomats, and political actors, with books and interviews presenting conflicting versions of Abacha’s final hours.
Amachree, a retired Assistant Director of the DSS who served during the Abacha administration, recently reignited the debate through his memoir by offering his own account of the late military ruler’s final moments.
The publication has since sparked fresh reactions from former officials who served under the Abacha regime.
Al-Mustapha, one of Abacha’s closest aides, has consistently rejected narratives he believes misrepresent the late Head of State or events that occurred during his administration.
Following Abacha’s death, Al-Mustapha was arrested in 1999 and later stood trial over the attempted murder of publisher Alex Ibru and the murder of Kudirat Abiola, wife of the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola.
He spent more than a decade in detention before the Court of Appeal discharged and acquitted him in 2013.
Since regaining his freedom, Al-Mustapha has repeatedly defended the Abacha administration, maintaining that many allegations against the late military ruler and members of his government were politically motivated or lacked factual basis.
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