Late Gen. Sani Abacha: “l Did Not Kill Him, He Died on Top of Me,” Says Mistress -

“I did not kill him, he died on top of me,” that was the confession of the lady who was with former military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, when he suddenly passed on.

A retired security operative, Dennis Amachree, said the lady, a pharmacist, made the confession when he interrogated her over Abacha’s mysterious death.

Amachree, who gave his own version of Abacha’s last moments, clarified that the former military ruler passed on around 4.05 am on June 8, 1998, at the Aso Villa, Abuja, in the presence of the lady during an intimate affair.

Gen. Sani Abacha was Nigeria’s military ruler between November 1993 and July 1998 when he suddenly passed on.

He was the seventh military leader. He died at 54.

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Given the manner of his death, there were speculations about what killed him and the circumstances of his death.

“The lady pharmacist’s account, on whom Abacha apparently had a coitus-induced cardiac arrest, remains the true position, and puts an end to the conspiracy theories and half-truths that have gone viral,” he stressed.

Amachree, who was the Assistant Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Lagos State SSS Command, at the time of Sani Abacha’s death, emphasised that “any other narrative is an act of deceit and a disservice to our countrymen and women.”

He made the revelation in his 348-paged book, just released, titled: ‘DSS @40: My journey behind the shield. The retired Assistant Director of Department of State Services (DSS) said after witnessing Abacha’s death, the lady-pharmacist immediately joined the next flight to Lagos.

Following the protest and furore that followed Military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s annulment of Abiola’s victory, he stepped aside and installed an unelected civilian Chief Ernest Shonekan as interim head of state with General Abacha as defence minister.

Nigerians roundly rejected the arrangement and Gen. Abacha took that advantage to force out Chief Shonekan, barely three months after. Gen. Abacha then became the head of state and a full blown dictator.

Amachree noted that “Sani Abacha’s five and half year rule was a period of extreme authoritarianism and brutal repression, adding that his regime was widely condemned for widespread human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, torture, and extra-,judicial killings.

About Sani Abacha

Sani Abacha GCFR 20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria as military head of state from 1993, following a palace coup d’état, until his death in 1998.

Abacha’s seizure of power was the last successful coup d’état in Nigerian military history. He wielded power with an unyielding attitude and his rule heralded an unprecedented total disregard for human rights with several political assassinations and summary executions of dissidents and political opponents in Nigeria.

His rule drew disrepute to the country with Nigeria becoming a pariah state in international relations particularly with regard to the execution of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.

Sani Abacha was considered one of the twentieth century’s most corrupt dictators and as a kleptocrat for the alleged embezzlement of US$2–5 billion.

Abacha, and his family, allegedly hid most of the loot in Switzerland, as well as in other jurisdictions including Liechtenstein, the United Kingdom and the United States. Abacha’s death on 8 June 1998 brought about the Nigerian Fourth Republic a year later and he was succeeded as Nigeria’s head of state by General Abdulsalami Abubakar.