Hamza Al-Mustapha, who served as chief security officer to the late military ruler Sani Abacha, asserts he possesses CCTV footage documenting Abacha’s death and the former head of state’s final hours, refuting recent claims that the real cause of Abacha’s death was an intimate encounter with a woman.
Abacha led Nigeria’s military government from November 1993 until his sudden death in June 1998.
Al-Mustapha has maintained over the years that Abacha’s death was caused by a poisoned handshake with a visiting dignitary’s security personnel.
In remarks to journalists in Kaduna reported by The Nation, Al-Mustapha dismissed accounts recently shared by retired Department of State Services (DSS) officer Dennis Amachree as completely unfounded.
He said that the author was influenced to present the narrative.
“The boy was asked to write the lies by others. I have all the CCTV footages of what happened in my custody, so what he said are not true,” Al-Mustapha said.
The former CSO asked the public to reject the allegations, stating it was wrong to make such assertions about someone who was no longer able to react.
“Just ignore his lies. It’s bad to say such things about someone that is dead,” he said.
“But I want to assure you that the author of the book is acting out a script. He is not acting alone.
“At the appropriate time, I will respond to these lies. You don’t tell your enemies your plans.”
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Backstory…
The dispute resurfaced after Dennis Amachree alleged in his 348-page memoir, DSS @ 40: My Journey Behind the Shield, that Abacha passed away in the early hours of June 8, 1998, following a fatal heart attack during a sexual encounter.
Amachree detailed that the event transpired inside an Aso Rock Villa guest house and involved a Nigerian chemist.
Abacha’s sudden demise occurred under a month before the death of MKO Abiola, the widely recognized winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
Abiola had been detained by the Abacha administration on charges of treason and treasonable felony after declaring himself president following the annulment of the election.
The latest claim by Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to late Head of State General Sani Abacha, revives one of Nigeria’s longest-running political mysteries surrounding Abacha’s death. Abacha died suddenly on June 8, 1998, while serving as Nigeria’s military ruler, with the official account attributing his death to a heart attack.
However, almost immediately after his passing, rumours spread that he died during an encounter with foreign women allegedly brought to the Presidential Villa, a claim that has persisted in public discourse for more than two decades despite never being officially substantiated.
