A retired Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has challenged former Chief Security Officer to late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd.), to produce CCTV footage of the late military ruler’s final moments if he disputes the account contained in his recently published memoir.
Amachree made the remarks while responding to Al-Mustapha’s rejection of claims made in his new book, DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield, where he provided a detailed account of the events surrounding General Abacha’s sudden death on June 8, 1998.
In the 348-page publication, Amachree claimed that General Abacha died at approximately 4:05 a.m. inside the Presidential Villa Guest House in Abuja after suffering what he described as a coitus-induced cardiac arrest.
According to the retired intelligence officer, he participated in the investigation that followed the military leader’s sudden death and based his account on firsthand knowledge acquired during the official inquiry.
The revelations have reignited public debate over one of Nigeria’s most controversial political events, with differing accounts continuing to emerge nearly three decades after Abacha’s death.
Reacting to the publication, Al-Mustapha dismissed Amachree’s account as false and urged Nigerians not to believe the version presented in the memoir.
The former Chief Security Officer, who was one of the closest officials to General Abacha during his administration, insisted that the narrative contained in the book was inaccurate.
However, Amachree has maintained that merely rejecting the claims without presenting evidence is insufficient.
Speaking in response to Al-Mustapha’s criticism, Amachree challenged the retired military officer to provide verifiable evidence if he believes the account is incorrect. If he says what I wrote is false, let him produce the CCTV footage of what happened.”
Amachree argued that historical accounts should be challenged with facts rather than personal opinions, stressing that evidence should form the basis of any disagreement over the circumstances surrounding Abacha’s death.
According to him, simply branding his account as false does not invalidate the findings documented in his memoir.
The retired DSS officer also defended his professional standing, noting that he retired as an Assistant Director in the DSS, a position he said is comparable to the rank of Brigadier in the Nigerian Army.
Drawing a distinction between their respective careers, Amachree said: I retired as an Assistant Director, which in army terms is equivalent to a Brigadier, while Al-Mustapha retired as a Major.
The statement appeared intended to reinforce his credibility as a senior intelligence officer who participated in sensitive national investigations.
General Sani Abacha, Nigeria’s military Head of State from 1993 until his death in 1998, remains one of the country’s most controversial leaders.
His sudden death on June 8, 1998, has generated numerous theories over the years, ranging from natural causes to conspiracy claims. Although the official position has long been that he died suddenly, various books, testimonies, and media reports have continued to present differing versions of the circumstances surrounding his final hours.
Amachree’s latest memoir has once again brought the debate into the public spotlight, prompting renewed discussions about the historical record of one of Nigeria’s most significant political transitions.
As the exchange between the two former security officials unfolds, no independent evidence has been publicly presented to conclusively support or refute the competing accounts, leaving the matter firmly in the realm of conflicting personal testimonies.
