A former senior official of Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has claimed that former military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, died from cardiac arrest during sexual intercourse, offering a fresh account of one of the country’s most controversial political deaths.
Dennis Amachree, a former Assistant Director of the DSS, made the claim while reflecting on the circumstances surrounding Abacha’s sudden death on 8 June 1998, an event that has remained the subject of speculation and conspiracy theories for nearly three decades.
According to Amachree, Abacha suffered a fatal cardiac arrest during an intimate encounter, dismissing long-standing claims that the former military ruler was poisoned or assassinated.
Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from November 1993 until his death in June 1998, presided over one of the country’s most contentious military governments. His administration was marked by widespread allegations of human rights abuses, the detention of political opponents and international criticism.
His sudden death at the Presidential Villa in Abuja triggered a wave of rumours, including claims of poisoning involving foreign agents and mysterious circumstances surrounding his final hours. However, no official investigation has ever conclusively established those allegations.
Amachree’s account adds to the competing narratives that have continued to surround the former military leader’s death, reviving public debate over one of the most enduring mysteries in Nigeria’s political history.
