Former DSS Officer Claims Sani Abacha Died of Cardiac Arrest During Intercourse

A former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has claimed that Nigeria’s late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, died from a cardiac arrest during an intimate encounter, dismissing long-standing conspiracy theories surrounding his death.

The revelation is contained in Amachree’s newly released memoir, DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield, excerpts of which were published on Tuesday. According to the retired intelligence officer, Abacha suffered a fatal cardiac arrest at approximately 4:05 a.m. on June 8, 1998, while at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Amachree, who served as the Assistant Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Lagos DSS Command at the time, claimed the incident occurred while Abacha was alone with a woman described as a pharmacist who had accompanied her elder sister—allegedly the military ruler’s girlfriend—to the Presidential Villa.

According to the account in the memoir, the younger woman remained with Abacha after her sister returned to a hotel. Amachree alleged that during the encounter, she realised the Head of State had suddenly become unresponsive and discovered he had no pulse.

The former intelligence officer further claimed that the woman, reportedly frightened by the incident, left the Presidential Villa after requesting transportation back to her hotel before later travelling to Lagos on an early morning flight.

Amachree said that when Abacha’s Chief Security Officer, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, was informed of the situation, efforts were immediately launched to locate the woman. He added that he was later instructed by the DSS headquarters to track her down in Lagos and personally interrogate her.

According to Amachree, the woman insisted during questioning that she had no involvement in Abacha’s death, maintaining that the former military leader collapsed during the encounter.

The retired DSS operative argued that the woman’s testimony supports the conclusion that Abacha died from a coitus-induced cardiac arrest, rather than from poisoning or any other alleged assassination plot that has circulated over the years.

General Sani Abacha ruled Nigeria from November 1993 until his death on June 8, 1998. Since then, numerous theories have emerged regarding the circumstances surrounding his passing. Amachree’s memoir offers his personal account of the events, presenting what he describes as the true sequence of events based on his role as a senior intelligence officer at the time.