Contrary to many accounts, Abacha died of cardiac arrest during sexual intercourse — Ex-DSS officer

A former Assistant Director of State Security Service, now known as Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has revealed that contrary to what many has speculated, Nigeria’s late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, died of a cardiac arrest during sexual intercourse with a woman at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Amachree made the revelation in his newly released book, DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield, where he recounted the events leading to Abacha’s death on June 8, 1998.

There are many accounts of what killed the late dictator, but tbe retired DSS operative, who served as Assistant Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Lagos DSS Command at the time, said Abacha died around 4:05 a.m. in the company of a female pharmacist.

According to him, the woman had accompanied her elder sister, described as Sani Abacha’s girlfriend, to the Presidential Villa after the Head of State allegedly bought the latter a new sports utility vehicle (SUV).

He said the elder sister later returned to her hotel, leaving the pharmacist alone with Abacha.

Quoting from the book, Amachree wrote, “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 Noga Hilton Hotel.

“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’

“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.

“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.

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

“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 a.m. Okada Air flight to Lagos.

“This is the window Major Al-Mustapha missed. When he was finally informed of Abacha’s instability at 5 a.m., 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.

“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.”

Amachree said he later received a call from the Director of Operations at the DSS National Headquarters directing him to locate the woman.

According to him, his team traced the pharmacist to Ogudu, Lagos, where she was brought in for questioning before being flown back to Abuja.

Recalling the interrogation, he wrote,”My team located and brought her to my office. I interrogated her myself.

“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.

“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.”

Amachree added that the pharmacist’s account contradicted the long-running theories surrounding Abacha’s death.

He wrote that it put to rest the “conspiracy theories and half-truths” surrounding the late military ruler’s death, including claims involving “imported Indian girls and poisoned apples.”

Abacha ruled Nigeria from November 1993 until his death on June 8, 1998. His administration remains one of the country’s most controversial military governments, with allegations of widespread human rights abuses and authoritarian rule.

His death came barely a month before the demise of Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, who died in government custody after years of detention.