Ex-DSS officer says Abacha died during sex with girlfriend’s sister — Shehu Sani says it’s misleading

Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani has dismissed claims in a newly released DSS memoir that former military Head of State Sani Abacha died of cardiac arrest during sexual activity, describing the account as misleading and lacking convincing evidence.

Nearly three decades after his death, the circumstances surrounding Sani Abacha’s final hours are back in the spotlight — and not everyone is convinced by the latest version of events.

A former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services, Dennis Amachree, has made explosive claims in his newly released memoir, “DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield,” asserting that the late military dictator died of cardiac arrest during sex with his girlfriend at the Presidential Villa in Abuja at approximately 4:05 a.m. in June 1998. Amachree was serving as Assistant Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Lagos Command at the time of Abacha’s death.

Daily Post reports that the memoir has reignited a long-running debate about what truly happened that night — but former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani is having none of it.

Taking to X, Sani issued a pointed rebuttal. “The claim on circumstances surrounding Abacha’s death is misleading. The Author couldn’t provide any convincing evidence other than literary narrative. It should be ignored,” he wrote.

As reported by Punch Newspapers, Sani’s rejection centres on what he describes as a failure to produce credible, verifiable evidence beyond the author’s personal account. The senator did not offer an alternative version of events but was unequivocal in his assessment of Amachree’s claims.

Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from November 1993 until his death in June 1998, died under circumstances that have long been the subject of speculation, conflicting accounts and political controversy.

Amachree’s memoir has now added a fresh chapter to that unresolved debate, even as prominent voices like Shehu Sani push back against its conclusions.