Former DSS Director Claims Abacha Suffered Fatal Cardiac Arrest During Intimate Encounter with an Igbo Lady

A former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has offered a fresh account of the circumstances surrounding the death of Nigeria’s former Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, maintaining that the military ruler died from a cardiac arrest during an intimate encounter at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Amachree, who served as Assistant Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Lagos State Command of the then State Security Service (SSS), disclosed the details in his newly released memoir, DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield.

Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from November 1993 until his death in June 1998, has remained the subject of conflicting narratives and conspiracy theories over the circumstances of his sudden demise. His years in office were marked by a tightly controlled military administration and widespread allegations of human rights abuses.

In the book, Amachree recounted that events leading to Abacha’s death began after the late military ruler’s girlfriend visited him at the Presidential Villa alongside her younger sister, a pharmacist who was in Abuja to attend a conference.

According to the former DSS officer, the younger woman eventually remained alone with Abacha after her elder sister returned to her hotel.

“At approximately 2.40 am, shortly after Gen. Useni left, Abacha’s girlfriend, an Igbo lady (name withheld), arrived at the Aso Rock Guest House from the Nicon Nogs Hilton Hotel,” Amachree wrote.

“With her was her younger sister, a pharmacist who was in Abuja for a conference. The Head of State had just bought his girlfriend a new SUV, and they decided to stop by to say hello to ‘Oga’.”

He continued: “Abacha was taken with the younger sister, and after a short while, the girlfriend returned to the hotel, leaving the pharmacist alone with the Head of State.”

Describing what allegedly followed, Amachree wrote that the woman discovered Abacha had become unresponsive while they were together.

“At about 4.05 am, as they were getting intimate, the pharmacist realized Abacha had stopped moving. She called out to him, but he was unresponsive and stiff. She checked his pulse; there was none.”

According to the account, the woman quickly left the Presidential Villa after informing a soldier on duty that the Head of State had requested a vehicle to take her back to her hotel.

“In a state of panic, she quickly dressed and left the guest house, telling the soldier in guard duty that ‘Oga’ had asked for a car to take her back to her hotel,” the memoir stated.

“The soldier, unaware of the gravity of the situation, promptly arranged for her transportation. She returned to the Hilton, and after telling her sister what had happened, was quickly driven to the Abuja Airport to catch the 7.am Okada Airline flight to Lagos.”

Amachree claimed the delay in identifying the woman complicated initial efforts by security officials to question her.

“This is the window Major Al-Mustapha missed. When he was finally informed of Abacha’s instability at 5 am, he asked who had been with the General. He was told about the girlfriend’s younger sister, whom they had just dropped off at the Hilton.”

He added: “The State Security Service (SSS) was immediately informed and went to the Hilton to arrest the girlfriend, but the pharmacist they urgently needed was already on her way to Lagos.”

The retired intelligence officer further disclosed that he later traced and questioned the pharmacist after receiving instructions from the DSS headquarters.

Recalling the interrogation, he said the woman’s first words were a denial of any wrongdoing.

“My team located and brought her to my office. I interrogated her myself,” Amachree wrote.

“The first thing she said to me was : ‘I did not kill him, he died on top of me.’ After her detailed account, I called the Director in Abuja, and she was immediately flown back.”

Amachree maintained that the woman’s testimony supports his long-held position on the cause of Abacha’s death and contradicts several conspiracy theories that have circulated for nearly three decades.

“The lady pharmacist’s account, on whom Abacha apparently had a coitus-induced cardiac arrest, remains the true position, and puts an end to the conspiracy theories and half-truths that have gone viral.”

Among the theories he dismissed were claims that Abacha died after being poisoned or following an encounter with foreign women.

Abacha died in June 1998, bringing an end to nearly five years of military rule. His death came less than one month before the passing of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, who died while in government custody after years of detention under the military regime.