Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Dan Etete, has dismissed as unsubstantiated claims by a former intelligence officer, Dennis Amachree, concerning the circumstances surrounding the death of former Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
Etete, who served in the Abacha administration, challenged Amachree to produce documentary and other verifiable evidence to support the account contained in his memoir and reported by The Guardian on July 21, 2026.
He particularly questioned the failure of the former intelligence officer to provide a post-mortem report, interrogation records, official files, duty logs or medical findings to substantiate his account of Abacha’s final hours.
Etete, in a statement, said it was unacceptable for Nigerians to be asked to accept a detailed account of the death of a former Head of State based solely on the recollection of one person, 28 years after the incident.
According to him, Amachree’s account hinges on an unidentified woman whose alleged presence and statements have not been independently verified.
“Where is the post-mortem report? Who is this woman, is she alive, and has she confirmed this? Where is the record of the interrogation — the date, the place, the signature?” Etete asked.
He also demanded to know the identity of the officer Amachree allegedly contacted, as well as whether the officer had corroborated any part of the account.
Etete further questioned what flight manifest, hotel register or duty log could independently support the timeline presented by Amachree, and who determined the cause of Abacha’s death.
“None of these are unreasonable questions. Every one of them should have an answer. Not one of them has been answered,” he said.
Etete said he was not speaking as a lawyer or spokesman for Abacha, but as someone who served in the former administration, knew Abacha personally and regarded him as a close friend.
“I am telling you plainly: I do not believe a word of this,” he declared.
He argued that the account was never raised during the numerous inquiries and discussions surrounding Abacha’s death over the past 28 years, describing its emergence in a recently published memoir as questionable.
“In twenty-eight years, through every inquiry and every commission, through all the years when the people close to that night were still alive and still talking, this account was never once raised,” he said.
Etete also questioned why the unidentified woman was allegedly allowed to leave Nigeria without a serious criminal investigation, given the importance of the case.
“What are the so-called woman’s name and her nationality? Why did you allow her to leave the country without filing a serious criminal investigation against her? Who ordered her release and subsequent departure from Nigeria?” he asked.
He stressed that Abacha was not an ordinary citizen but the Head of State at the time, arguing that any investigation into his death should have been handled through established official procedures and not by one individual.
“General Sani Abacha was not an ordinary man or citizen of Nigeria. For such an important case which involves the country’s president, it should not be taken lightly and handled by you alone,” Etete said.
The former minister accused Amachree of seeking publicity and relevance through the account, saying the narrative appeared designed to attract attention and boost sales of his book.
Etete maintained that until Amachree provides verifiable answers to the questions surrounding the identity of the woman, her nationality, the alleged investigation, the authorisation for her release and departure, and supporting official records, the account should not be regarded as established history.
He described the claims as “unverified, unsupported and unconvincing”, insisting that they should not be treated as credible without independent documentary evidence.
“The account remains unverified, unsupported, and unconvincing. It should not be trusted. It reads as little more than a salacious attempt to attract attention and sell a book,” Etete said.
