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 officer Dennis Amachree about the circumstances surrounding the late military ruler’s death.
Al-Mustapha spoke on Saturday while addressing journalists at the 3rd General Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference held at Arewa House in Kaduna.
His comments came in response to renewed public attention on Amachree’s memoir, The Shadow Warrior, in which the retired DSS operative recounted his version of the events leading to Abacha’s death on June 8, 1998.
Rejecting the account, Al-Mustapha described it as false and alleged it was written at the behest of unnamed individuals.
“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,” he said.
He maintained that he possessed evidence that contradicted Amachree’s narrative but did not provide further details or indicate whether he intended to make it public.
Al-Mustapha urged Nigerians to disregard the claims, arguing that it was inappropriate to make allegations against someone who was no longer alive to defend himself.
“Just ignore his lies. It’s bad to say such things about someone who is dead,” he added.
Abacha took power in 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. While the government announced that he died after a brief illness, the circumstances surrounding his death have continued to generate debate.
Over the years, former military officers, intelligence personnel, diplomats and political figures have offered differing accounts of Abacha’s final hours through books, interviews and public statements.
Amachree, a retired Assistant Director of the DSS who served during the Abacha administration, recently reignited the controversy with the publication of his memoir, drawing fresh reactions from individuals who worked closely with the late military ruler.
Al-Mustapha, who served as Abacha’s Chief Security Officer throughout his administration, has repeatedly defended the former Head of State and challenged accounts he believes misrepresent the government or events of that era.
After Abacha’s death, Al-Mustapha was arrested in 1999 and faced trial over the attempted murder of publisher Alex Ibru and the killing of Kudirat Abiola, wife of the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola. He spent over a decade in detention before the Court of Appeal acquitted him of the charges in 2013.
Since then, he has consistently maintained that many allegations against the Abacha administration were politically motivated and not supported by credible evidence.
(The Whistler)
