Former Chief Security Officer to late Nigerian Head of State Sani Abacha, Hamza Al-Mustapha, has strongly rejected claims made by ex-DSS operative Dennis Amachree regarding the circumstances of Abacha’s death.

Speaking at the 3rd General Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference held at Arewa House in Kaduna, Al-Mustapha described Amachree’s account in his memoir The Shadow Warrior as false and misleading.

He claimed the narrative was fabricated and insisted he possesses evidence, including CCTV footage, that contradicts the version presented in the book.

However, he did not provide details or indicate whether such evidence would be made public.

Al-Mustapha also urged Nigerians to disregard the claims, arguing that it is unfair to make allegations against a deceased person who cannot defend himself.

Sani Abacha, who came to power after the 1993 Nigerian coup d'état, died suddenly on June 8, 1998, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. While the government at the time attributed his death to a sudden illness, the circumstances have remained controversial, with multiple conflicting accounts emerging over the years.

The renewed debate follows Amachree’s publication, which has sparked fresh reactions from individuals who served during the Abacha era. Al-Mustapha, a central figure in that period, has consistently defended the late leader and challenged narratives he believes distort historical events.

Notably, after Abacha’s death, Al-Mustapha was arrested in 1999 and later tried over high-profile cases involving Kudirat Abiola and Alex Ibru. He spent over a decade in detention before being acquitted by the Court of Appeal in 2013.