Former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd.), on Saturday dismissed claims by a former Department of State Services operative, Dennis Amachree, over the circumstances surrounding the death of the late military ruler, insisting that the account was fabricated.
Al-Mustapha also claimed to be in possession of CCTV footage of the events surrounding Abacha’s death, saying the material contradicts the version contained in Amachree’s recently published memoir, The Shadow Warrior.
The retired army officer spoke with journalists on the sidelines of the 3rd General Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference held at Arewa House, Kaduna.
His reaction followed renewed public interest generated by Amachree’s memoir, in which the retired Assistant Director of the DSS reportedly gave his account of Abacha’s final moments before his death on June 8, 1998.
Rejecting the claims, Al-Mustapha alleged that the former intelligence officer’s account was written at the instance 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.
Although he insisted that he possessed evidence capable of disproving the account, Al-Mustapha did not reveal details of the alleged footage or indicate whether he intended to release it to the public.
He urged Nigerians to disregard the claims, arguing that it was unfair to make allegations against a deceased person who could no longer defend himself.
“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, Abuja, on June 8, 1998.
The Federal Government had announced at the time that the late Head of State died after a sudden illness.
However, the circumstances surrounding his death have remained one of the most controversial episodes in Nigeria’s political history, with conflicting accounts emerging over the years from former military officers, intelligence operatives, diplomats and political actors.
Amachree’s memoir has reignited debate over the incident by presenting his own version of Abacha’s final hours, prompting fresh reactions from former officials who served under the military administration.
Al-Mustapha, regarded as one of Abacha’s closest aides, has consistently defended the late Head of State and rejected narratives he believes misrepresent the administration.
Following Abacha’s death, he was arrested in 1999 and prosecuted over the attempted murder of publisher Alex Ibru and the murder 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 discharged and acquitted him in 2013.
Since regaining his freedom, Al-Mustapha has repeatedly maintained that many allegations against the Abacha administration and its officials were politically motivated or not supported by credible evidence.
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