Al-Mustapha rejects Amachree’s account of Abacha’s death

• Claims CCTV evidence exists•Claims CCTV evidence exists

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, has challenged the version of events surrounding Abacha’s death presented in a book by former DSS operative Mr. Amachree, calling the account fabricated.

Speaking to journalists in Kaduna on Sunday, Al-Mustapha said the claims in the publication did not reflect what truly happened on the night of Abacha’s death in June 1998. He alleged that the ex-DSS officer was influenced to write the story.

“The boy was asked to write the lies by others. I have all the CCTV footage of what happened in my custody, so what he said is not true,” Al-Mustapha stated.

He insisted he has evidence contradicting the narrative in the book and urged Nigerians to disregard it.

“Just ignore his lies. It’s bad to say such things about someone dead,” he added.

In the book, Amachree recounts that around 2:40 a.m., shortly after the late General Jeremiah Useni left, a female companion of Abacha arrived at the Aso Rock Guest House from the Nicon Noga Hilton Hotel with her younger sister, described as a pharmacist attending a conference in Abuja.

According to the account, Abacha bought the woman a new SUV, and they stopped by to greet him. The Head of State was said to have been drawn to the younger sister, after which the elder sister returned to the hotel, leaving the pharmacist alone with Abacha.

Amachree further writes that around 4:05 a.m., while they were together, the pharmacist noticed Abacha had become unresponsive. She checked his pulse, found none, and quickly dressed and left the guest house. She reportedly told the guard on duty that “Oga” had asked for a car to take her back to her hotel.

The guard, unaware of what had happened, arranged transportation for her. She returned to the Hilton, informed her sister, and was driven to Abuja Airport to catch a 7 a.m. Okada Air flight to Lagos.

Amachree states he later interrogated the woman in Lagos under the instructions of the Director of National Operations at DSS headquarters in Abuja.

“The first thing she said to me was: ‘I did not kill him, he died on top of me’,” he wrote.

He added that he immediately informed Abuja and arranged for the woman to be returned to the capital.

Al-Mustapha, however, dismissed the entire story as false, asserting that he has records of what transpired that night.

He warned against making unverified claims about public figures who can no longer defend themselves, saying such publications distort history.

The death of General Abacha on June 8, 1998, remains one of the most debated episodes in Nigeria’s political history, with various accounts emerging over the years about what really happened.