A retired Department of State Services operative has alleged that former military ruler Sani Abacha died of a cardiac arrest during an intimate encounter with a female pharmacist, dismissing conspiracy theories surrounding his sudden death in 1998.
Dennis Amachree, who served as Assistant Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Lagos State SSS Command at the time, made the revelation in his recently released book DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield.
According to Amachree, Abacha passed away around 4:05 am on June 8, 1998, at Aso Villa in Abuja while with the lady. “The lady pharmacist’s account, on whom Abacha apparently had a coitus-induced cardiac arrest, remains the true position,” he stated.
He described interrogating the woman shortly after the incident. “The first thing she said to me was: ‘I did not kill him, he died on top of me,’” Amachree recounted. “After her detailed account, I called the Director in Abuja, and she was immediately flown back.”
The operative insisted the narrative ends speculation. “Any other narrative is an act of deceit and a disservice to our countrymen and women,” he added.
Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from November 1993 until his death at age 54, has long been the subject of various unverified accounts regarding the circumstances of his demise.
