By George Omagbemi Sylvester
A retired Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has revealed how Nigerian intelligence operatives collaborated with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to arrest notorious international plane hijacker Omar Mohammed Ali Rezaq at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in an operation that lasted just 15 minutes.
Amachree disclosed the details in his newly released memoir, “DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield,” where he chronicled some of the most sensitive intelligence operations carried out during his four decades in Nigeria’s secret service.
According to the former intelligence officer, the operation began in July 1993 when the then Director-General of the State Security Service (now DSS), Peter Nwaoduah, instructed him to receive a team of FBI special agents arriving from the United States Embassy in Lagos. The agents later identified their target as Omar Rezaq, a Lebanese-born militant wanted for hijacking EgyptAir Flight 648 in November 1985.
The aircraft, travelling from Athens to Cairo, was seized by three armed militants before being forced to land in Malta. The hijacking ended in tragedy after Egyptian commandos stormed the aircraft, leaving 58 passengers dead. Rezaq, the only surviving hijacker, later escaped custody in Malta and remained a fugitive before intelligence reports traced him to Accra, Ghana.
Amachree said intelligence indicated that Rezaq would travel from Accra to Lagos aboard a Ghana Airways flight. To ensure the mission’s success, the DSS coordinated closely with the FBI and the then Military Airport Commandant, Group Captain John Ojikutu, who deployed armed airmen to secure the airport’s arrival zone against any possible resistance.
Upon the aircraft’s arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Rezaq was discreetly identified, intercepted and taken into custody without resistance. He was immediately handed over to the FBI, which had positioned a chartered Gulfstream IV aircraft in Lagos to fly the suspect directly to the United States.
“The entire ground operation was completed with surgical precision in exactly 15 minutes,” Amachree wrote, noting that speed and secrecy were critical to preventing any security breach or escape attempt.
Following his extradition, Rezaq was tried in the United States and, in 1996, convicted on multiple charges, including air piracy, receiving a life sentence.
Amachree disclosed that the successful operation earned him formal recognition from the U.S. Government, including a commemorative plaque presented during the administration of then-President Bill Clinton.
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