By Kabir Tijani
A former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has said former Head of State, General Sani Abacha, died of heart attack contrary to reports in public domain that he was poisoned.
According to him, many accounts of Abacha’s death were based on speculation raher than facts, insisting that evidence gathered after his death pointed to a heart attack.
Amachree, who made the disclosure in his newly released book and spoke about it during an interview with TVC News, explained that many people were looking at events from the outside and drawing conclusions.
Salient Times reports that Abacha died on June 8, 1998, while serving as Nigeria’s Head of State.
The circumstances surrounding his death have remained a subject of public debate for nearly three decades, with several theories emerging over the years.
Speaking about the incident, Amachree said, “A lot of people have come up with different stories about what happened, but they were not aware of the facts. They were looking at events from the outside and drawing conclusions.
“Some even claimed certain actions caused his death, but they are not doctors and cannot say with certainty what killed him.”
Amachree said investigators questioned a woman who was reportedly with Abacha shortly before he died, describing her account as the only direct eyewitness testimony of what happened in the room.
According to him, the woman arrived at the residence with her sister, who was said to know the former Head of State.
“The girl who was with him when he died was later brought to me for questioning. When she entered my office, the first thing she said was, ‘I did not kill him.’ She was very direct about it,” he recalled.
The former DSS official said he found the woman’s account believable after questioning her extensively and saw no reason to doubt her.
“I had to believe her because she had no reason to lie to me. I did not create an atmosphere that would make her feel threatened.
“Her account remains the only true eyewitness account of what happened because nobody else was in that room with them,” he said.
Based on her testimony and findings from the investigation, Amachree said he concluded that Abacha died of natural causes.
“From everything she told me and from what I gathered during the investigation, I strongly believe it was a heart attack. She did not know he was dead while she was with him, but later realized something was wrong. In my assessment, his death was the result of a heart attack,” he stated.
