Former Chief Security Officer to late military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd.), has rejected claims made by former Department of State Services (DSS) operative Dennis Amachree regarding the circumstances surrounding Abacha’s death.
Speaking to journalists during the 3rd General Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference at Arewa House in Kaduna on Saturday, Al-Mustapha described Amachree’s account as false and urged Nigerians to disregard it.
The renewed debate follows the release of Amachree’s memoir, *The Shadow Warrior*, in which the retired DSS officer reportedly recounted his version of events leading to Abacha’s death on June 8, 1998.
Responding to the publication, Al-Mustapha insisted 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.
He claimed to possess evidence that contradicts the version presented in the memoir but did not provide details about the alleged footage or indicate whether it would be released publicly.
Al-Mustapha also argued that making such allegations against a deceased person was unfair.
> “Just ignore his lies. It’s bad to say such things about someone who is dead,” he added.
Abacha, who came to power through a military coup on November 17, 1993, died suddenly at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on June 8, 1998. The Federal Government announced at the time that he died after a brief illness, but the exact circumstances of his death have remained the subject of speculation and conflicting accounts.
Over the years, former military officers, intelligence operatives, diplomats and political figures have offered differing narratives through books, interviews and public statements.
Amachree, a retired Assistant Director of the DSS who served during the Abacha era, recently revived the debate through his memoir, prompting reactions from several former officials associated with the administration.
Al-Mustapha, regarded as one of Abacha’s closest aides, has consistently challenged accounts he believes misrepresent the late military ruler or the events of his administration.
The former CSO remains a controversial figure in Nigeria’s history. After Abacha’s death, he was arrested in 1999 and prosecuted 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 more than a decade in detention before the Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged him in 2013. Since then, Al-Mustapha has repeatedly defended the Abacha administration, maintaining that many allegations against the late ruler and members of his government were politically motivated or lacked credible evidence.
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