A former senior official of the Department of State Services (DSS) has disclosed what he describes as a firsthand account of the circumstances surrounding the death of Nigeria’s military ruler, General Sani Abacha.
Leadership reported on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, that Dennis Amachree, who was serving as assistant director of operations and intelligence at the DSS Lagos command at the time, made the revelation in his newly released book titled ‘DSS at 40: My Journey Behind the Shield’.
Book sheds light on Abacha’s final hours
Amachree’s account states that Abacha’s girlfriend, identified as an Igbo woman, arrived at the Aso Rock Guest House from the Nicon Noga Hilton Hotel at about 2:40 am on June 8, 1998, in the company of her younger sister.
The woman, who was a pharmacist, had travelled to Abuja to attend a conference. According to the account, Abacha had recently purchased a new SUV for his girlfriend, prompting the two women to visit the presidential villa to see him.
Not long after arriving, the girlfriend reportedly departed for the hotel, leaving her younger sister behind with the head of state.
Amachree stated that at approximately 4:05 am, the young woman noticed that Abacha was no longer responsive and could not detect a pulse.
She reportedly got dressed immediately and informed the soldier stationed on guard duty that “Oga” (apparently referring to Abacha) had requested a vehicle to transport her back to the hotel.
She then made her way to the Hilton. By 7:00 am, she had already taken an Okada Airlines flight to Lagos.
According to Amachree, the pharmacist had departed Abuja before Abacha’s chief security officer (CSO), Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, was notified about the general’s condition at 5:00 am.
When security personnel subsequently went to the Hilton, they reportedly found only the girlfriend, while her sister was no longer there.
Amachree’s account of how Sani Abacha allegedly died
Following the development, DSS national headquarters reportedly contacted Amachree and instructed him to trace the pharmacist in Lagos. His team eventually located her in Ogudu, where Amachree personally questioned her about what had happened.
“The first thing she said to me was: ‘I did not kill him, he died on top of me,'” Amachree recalled in the book, according to The Nation.
After she gave a detailed account of the events, the pharmacist was transported back to Abuja by air.
Amachree said the evidence from her testimony suggested that Abacha suffered a coitus-induced cardiac arrest, a conclusion he believes “puts an end to the conspiracy theories and half-truths that have gone viral,” including long-standing claims involving Indian women and a poisoned apple.
See the post below
Gen. Sani Abacha D+ed of Cardiac Arrest While ‘Working Out’ With His Girlfriend’s Sister in 1998 — Ex-DSS Director Reveals
Former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has claimed that late military ruler Gen. Sani Abacha d+ed during an… pic.twitter.com/UvrLjRTSRS
— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) July 21, 2026
How netizens reacted to this new revelation;
@OnMookie stated: “Make una nor correct the narrative na. Leave am as e be. Status quo type shiiii. Apple lo pa Abacha (sic).”
@owinki1 opined: “The only man who truly had the interest of Nigeria at heart. America and their allies killed him simply because he refused to serve their interests and chose to serve his country instead.”
@garrickkome wrote: “Whether this story is true or not, one thing we can all agree on is that Abacha’s regime left deep scars on Nigeria. History should focus more on the lives that were lost, the billions allegedly looted, and the damage done to our democracy than on how he eventually died.”
