Abacha Death Row Rekindled as Ex-DSS Chief Challenges Al-Mustapha to Produce CCTV Evidence

By Sunday Ameh

A former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has challenged Hamza Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer to late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, to release the alleged CCTV footage of Abacha’s final moments if he disputes the account contained in his recently published memoir.

Amachree’s challenge follows Al-Mustapha’s rejection of claims made in the book, DSS @ 40: My Journey Behind the Shield, in which the retired intelligence officer stated that Abacha died in June 1998 after suffering a cardiac arrest during sexual intercourse.

Reacting to the account, Al-Mustapha described the claims as false, alleging that Amachree was acting out a script written by others. He insisted that he possesses CCTV footage of what transpired during Abacha’s final hours, which he said contradicts the narrative in the memoir.

Responding in an interview with The Nation, Amachree urged Al-Mustapha to provide evidence rather than make personal attacks.
“If he says he knows what happened that night, let him release the CCTV footage,” Amachree said.

The former DSS officer disclosed that his memoir underwent the agency’s internal review and received official approval before publication as part of activities marking the DSS’ 40th anniversary.

According to him, the service invited him from the United States for the launch of the book, an event attended by senior security officials, state directors of the DSS and members of the diplomatic community.

Amachree also dismissed Al-Mustapha’s reference to him as “a boy,” arguing that his career progression within the DSS placed him above the retired army officer in rank.

“I was seven years old when Nigeria gained independence. I retired as an Assistant Director, which in army terms is equivalent to a Brigadier, while Al-Mustapha retired as a Major,” he said.

The exchange marks the latest chapter in the renewed public debate surrounding the circumstances of Gen. Sani Abacha’s death, with both former security officials maintaining conflicting accounts nearly three decades after the former military ruler’s passing.