Sani Abacha: 28 Years Later, Sickness That Killed Ex-Military Head Emerges, "She Dressed and Left"
- Dennis Amachree, a former DSS assistant director, gave a detailed account of Abacha's final moments in his newly published memoir
- A female pharmacist who was alone with the late military ruler at Aso Rock flagged to guards that something was wrong before fleeing to Lagos
- Amachree said he personally interrogated the woman in Lagos and that her account dismantled years of conspiracy theories about Abacha's death
A former assistant director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has offered what he describes as the true account of how Nigeria's military ruler Sani Abacha died on June 8, 1998, drawing on his direct involvement in the events that followed that night.
Amachree shared the account in his new memoir, "DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield." At the time of Abacha's death, he served as assistant director of operations and intelligence at the DSS command in Lagos.
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What happened at Aso rock that night
According to Amachree, Abacha's girlfriend, described as an Igbo woman, arrived at the Aso Rock Guest House from the Nicon Nogs Hilton Hotel at about 2:40am, accompanied by her younger sister, a pharmacist who was in Abuja for a conference. Abacha had recently bought the girlfriend a new SUV, and the two women stopped at the villa to greet him.
The military ruler took an interest in the younger sister, and after a short time the girlfriend returned to the hotel, leaving the pharmacist alone with Abacha.
At roughly 4:05am, the pharmacist noticed that Abacha had become motionless and unresponsive during an intlmate encounter. She checked his pulse and found none.
She dressed hurriedly and told the soldier on guard duty that Abacha had requested a car to take her back to her hotel.
The soldier arranged her transport without suspicion. She returned to the Hilton, briefed her sister, and the two quickly drove to Abuja Airport to board the 7am Okada Airline flight to Lagos.
Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, Abacha's chief security officer, was not informed of the general's condition until 5am. By the time the DSS reached the Hilton to locate the girlfriend, the pharmacist was already airborne.
Amachree interrogates the pharmacist in Lagos
Following a call from the director of operations at DSS national headquarters, Amachree's team tracked down and brought the pharmacist to his office in Ogudu, Lagos, where he conducted the interrogation himself, The Cable reported.
"The first thing she said to me was: 'I did not kill him, he died on top of me,'" Amachree wrote. After the woman gave her full account, he contacted the director in Abuja and she was flown back immediately.
Amachree said her version of events directly contradicts the various theories, including stories about "imported Indian girls and poisoned apples," that have circulated since Abacha's death, Vanguard reported.
"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," he wrote.
Abacha had ruled Nigeria from November 1993 until his death in June 1998.
His time in power was marked by widespread human rights abuses and the suppression of political opposition, including the detention of MKO Abiola, winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, who died in custody barely a month after Abacha.
Obi: "Abacha more democratic than some NADECO leaders"
Previously, Legit.ng reported that former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has stirred fresh political controversy after accusing some former pro-democracy activists of abandoning the ideals they once defended.
He further noted that their conduct in power now compares unfavourably with that of late military ruler, Sani Abacha.
Source: Legit.ng
