General Sani Abacha died in 1998. Since then Nigerian Scam Letter con artists have been using the General's name and his wife's name to steal millions from unsuspecting recipients of these letters. Does Abacha's widow have access to millions of Dollars?

That remains to be seen. One thing is for certain, no money will ever be acquired by those who answer the letters written by those posing as

Maryam Abacha:

Queen of the Nigerian Scam Letters

Email boxes from New York to Timbuktu are flooded with letters from poor, beleaguered Maryam Abacha. Her tale of woe tears at the heartstrings of those who would love to share the millions and millions of Dollars

her late husband stashed away in Swiss bank accounts, French bank accounts, English bank accounts, storage units, suitcases, and safe-deposit boxes. Hmm. Did I miss a hidey-hole?

We can tell that she must be at the end of her tether - she hardly ever spells her name correctly nor, for the most part, does she seem to know how to spell her husband's name (was that with one "n" or two?). Plus, she seems to keep switching addresses, an exhausting feat for even the most hardy, much less a woman who is supposedly so very ill and distraught.

As if this were not confusing enough, there seems to be the question of just how many children she and the General had, and what their names are. Granted, the General played around a bit, so maybe that makes it difficult for her to keep track.

Oh yes - one must keep in mind that her husband died mysteriously of a massive coronary. A traumatic experience, I'm sure. Gee - I wonder what mysterious set of circumstances brought about his heart attack? Overeating, carousing, looking over his shoulder for assassins...?

Of course, none of the letters are actually from Maryam Abacha. They are sent by con artists posing as Maryam, wife #2 (seems to have been a fair number of these), sons, daughters, other relatives, Sani associates, and a number of family attorneys and close friends.

So just who is Maryam Abacha? You will find an excellent overview by Steven Dahlman at Who Is Maryam Abacha? The web page explains her current social life (nonexistent), provides a brief about General Sani Abacha, and lists their children (all 3 of them). Mr. Dahlman was kind enough to include photos.

On General Sani Abacha:

Sani Abacha's Stolen Millions: Where are they Hidden? May 10, 2000

Mohammed Abacha Faces Charge of Financial Crimes - July 15, 2002

Who has Sani Abacha's millions?

Nigerian Ruler Dies After Brutal Reign

Group Faults Obasanjo On Abacha's Freedom

Murder and foreign investors

Selected articles from Online NewsHour

"Abacha" Scam Letters:

Hajia Mariam Abacha 1/7/2002

Dr. Maryam Abacha 6/21/2002

Hajia Miriam Abacha 6/21/2002