The Cable reported on July 26, 2026, that Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, who was the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Nigerian military ruler General Sani Abacha, has denied rumours that Abacha had an affair before his death and claims to have CCTV footage of Abacha’s last moments that disproves the rumour.
In an interview with media in Kaduna, Al-Mustapha said that former DSS operator Dennis Amachree’s book included incorrect and misleading claims.
Recent events have reignited the controversy surrounding Amachree’s memoir, DSS @ 40: My Journey Behind the Shield, which is 348 pages long. In it, the retired intelligence officer asserts that Abacha passed away in the early hours of June 8, 1998, allegedly due to a cardiac arrest that occurred during an intimate encounter with a Nigerian chemist at the Presidential Villa Guest House in Abuja.
In response to the allegations, Al-Mustapha completely discredited the story, claiming that the author had been pressured by anonymous people to produce what he called a false narrative of events. “What he said is not true,” Al-Mustapha added, referring to the CCTV video that was kept in his possession.
Claiming that it was unjust to make harmful statements about someone who is no longer living to defend himself, he asked Nigerians to reject the allegations. “It’s bad to say such things about someone that is dead,” he remarked.
The former CSO went on to say that the retired DSS officer was only following orders, and that the publishing was an attempt to change the truth about the past.
You have my word that the book’s author is rehearsing. Al-Mustapha stated that he is not operating independently.
But he said he will react thoroughly later and refused to provide any further facts about Abacha’s death.
When the time is right, I will address these falsehoods. You should not divulge your intentions to your adversaries,” he said.
One of the most contentious political events in Nigeria has been re-examined in public discourse by Amachree’s narrative. The former security official said in his book that Abacha passed out while having sexual relations with a lady who was only named a chemist, who was supposedly accompanying her sister to the Presidential Villa.
Amachree said that the lady went on to say that the former military dictator was silent throughout the meeting, which prompted her to describe the desperate attempts to get medical help. Many have speculated for decades that Abacha was poisoned or that foreign intelligence agencies were involved in his death, but he insisted that this story accurately depicted what happened.
From November 1993 until his unexpected death on June 8, 1998, General Sani Abacha governed Nigeria. Military rule, international sanctions, accusations of massive human rights abuses, and the incarceration of pro-democracy activists—including Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, the presumed victor of the presidential election held on June 12, 1993—mark his administration as one of the most contentious in the country’s political history.
A month after Abacha’s murder, Abiola passed away in government detention, significantly escalating an already contentious political period in Nigeria.
No official account has finally resolved the question, despite the fact that many ideas have surfaced over the last 28 years about the circumstances behind Abacha’s death.
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