Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd.), former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, has debunked claims by former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree on the circumstances that led to the death of the late military ruler.
Addressing journalists on the sidelines of the 3rd General Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference at Arewa House in Kaduna on Saturday, Al-Mustapha said.
The retired DSS officer gave his account of the events leading to Abacha’s death on June 8, 1998, in his memoir, The Shadow Warrior, which has again attracted public attention.
It was recalled that Amachree had claimed that a woman described as Abacha’s girlfriend arrived at the Aso Rock Guest House in Abuja in the early hours of the day that he died.
He said she was with her younger sister, a pharmacist who was in Abuja for a professional conference.
Amachree said the younger woman was left alone with Abacha after her sister returned to the hotel.
At about 4.05 am, the woman reported that the former Head of State was unresponsive and had no pulse.
The retired DSS official said the woman panicked and left the guest house, telling the soldier on duty that Abacha had asked for a vehicle to take her back to the hotel.
Al-Mustapha rejected the account, calling it false and alleging the memoir was based on instructions from some unnamed persons.
“Others had the boy write these lies. “I have all the CCTV footage of what happened in my custody so what he said is not true,” he said.
He said he had evidence to refute Amachree’s account, but he would not say what it was or whether he would make it public.
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He urged Nigerians to discount the claims, saying it was wrong to make allegations against a person who was no longer alive to defend himself.
“Don’t believe his lies. It’s wrong to say such things about someone who is dead,” he added.
Abacha came to power in a military coup on November 17, 1993 and was Nigeria’s Head of State until his death at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on June 8, 1998.
Although the Federal Government announced he died after a brief illness, the circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of public debate, with former military officers, intelligence personnel, diplomats and political figures giving differing accounts over the years through books, interviews and public statements.
Al-Mustapha, who was Abacha’s Chief Security Officer throughout his administration, has always defended the late military ruler and contested accounts he believes distort the government or events of that era.
Al-Mustapha had always maintained that majority of the allegations against the Abacha administration were politically motivated and not supported by credible evidence.
