A former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has described the administration of the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, as an era of severe authoritarian rule, political persecution and widespread human rights violations.
Naija News reports that Amachree said Abacha’s five-and-a-half-year rule was characterised by arbitrary arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings.
The retired intelligence officer made the claims in his memoir, DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield, excerpts of which were published by The Nation on Tuesday.
Reflecting on the military government, Amachree said the period remained one of the darkest chapters in Nigeria’s political history.
Amachree wrote, “Abacha’s five-and-a-half-year rule was a period of extreme authoritarianism and brutal repression.
“His regime was widely condemned for widespread human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings.”
He also claimed that the number of political detainees held during the regime surpassed the total recorded throughout British colonial rule in Nigeria.
“The number of political detainees during his tenure reportedly exceeded the total from the entire British colonial period,” he stated.
Amachree recalled that shortly before his death, Abacha received representatives of the late Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.
He added that the military ruler later hosted Pope John Paul II, who appealed for the release of political detainees.
“Indeed, the Pope was the last visitor that Gen. Abacha received,” Amachree said.
Abacha died in June 1998 while still serving as Nigeria’s military ruler.
Death Surrounded By Conflicting Accounts
The retired DSS officer said the circumstances surrounding Abacha’s death had generated conflicting stories and conspiracy theories for nearly three decades.
According to him, many of the accounts published after the incident were not supported by verifiable evidence.
Amachree stated, “Many accounts were published, but few were based on verifiable facts.
“These range from fictional stories of a poisoned apple from disaffected soldiers to more sensational claims involving foreign intelligence agencies.”
Amachree disputed versions of the incident attributed to several public figures and officials, including journalist David Orr, former United States National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Abacha’s former Chief Security Officer, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha.
He also questioned accounts linked to former Federal Capital Territory minister, Gen. Jeremiah Useni; retired military doctor, Brig.-Gen. Oviemo Ovadje; and former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode.
Commenting on Al-Mustapha’s account, Amachree said it contained inconsistencies despite the former security chief’s proximity to Abacha.
Amachree further said, “As Abacha’s Chief Security Officer, his account is often considered a key source, though it contains notable inconsistencies.
“He claimed Abacha’s health collapsed after a handshake with a security guard of a visiting dignitary. This version, while exonerating the ‘poisoned apple’ theory, differs significantly from other timelines and accounts.”
Amachree argued that Al-Mustapha’s version failed to explain a crucial period before the military ruler’s death.
“He missed the one-and-a-half-hour window after Gen. Useni’s departure that provides the key to the mystery,” he said.
CIA, Poisoned-Apple Theories Dismissed
The former intelligence officer also rejected stories linking Abacha’s death to the Central Intelligence Agency, foreign women and poisoned fruit.
“The most sensational of these stories of imported Indian prostitutes, a poisoned apple and CIA involvement have been widely circulated, muddying the historical record,” he stated.
Amachree said he decided to document his version of events because of his involvement as a security official at the time.
“As a security professional who was in the thick of it, I feel compelled to set the record straight and provide the true narrative for posterity,” he added.
