Former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has claimed that late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, died from a cardiac arrest during an intimate encounter at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, rather than from the widely circulated poisoning theories that have surrounded his death for years.

Amachree made the claim in his newly released memoir, DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield, excerpts of which were published on Tuesday, July 21, 2026.

Also read: FG returns 13 unclaimed oil blocks after 37 attract bids

The retired intelligence officer, who was serving as Assistant Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Lagos DSS Command when Abacha died in June 1998, said the incident occurred at about 4:05 a.m. inside the Aso Rock Guest House.

According to Amachree, Abacha became unresponsive during the encounter with a woman identified as a pharmacist who was visiting Abuja for a conference.

He alleged that the woman became frightened after discovering that the former leader was no longer responding and left the Presidential Villa before security officials were fully informed about what had happened.

Amachree wrote that the woman had arrived at the guest house with her elder sister, who he described as Abacha’s girlfriend, before she was left alone with the former military ruler.

“At about 4.05 am, as they were getting intimate, the pharmacist realised Abacha had stopped moving. She called out to him, but he was unresponsive and stiff. She checked his pulse; there was none,” he wrote.

The former DSS officer claimed the woman later told him during an interrogation that she had no involvement in Abacha’s death.

“My team located and brought her to my office. I interrogated her myself. The first thing she said to me was: ‘I did not kill him, he died on top of me,’” Amachree stated.

He said the woman was later returned to Abuja after security authorities reviewed her account.

Amachree maintained that the account provided by the woman supported his belief that Abacha suffered a fatal cardiac episode and dismissed claims that the former leader was killed through poisoning or other deliberate means.

“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 said.

General Sani Abacha ruled Nigeria from November 1993 until his death on June 8, 1998, while serving as the country’s military Head of State.

His sudden death at the Presidential Villa triggered widespread speculation, with several conflicting explanations emerging over the years, including claims of poisoning that have never been conclusively proven.

Also read: FG returns 13 unclaimed oil blocks after 37 attract bids

Amachree’s memoir presents a new account from a former security official involved in the immediate aftermath of the incident, though the claims remain his personal account and have not been independently verified.