The Abacha Chronicles

And it all began with her, about 20 years ago.  Mariam/Maryam Abacha.  Widow of General Sani Abacha, former dictator of Nigeria.

She was my first scam letter.  And shortly after, my first online scam letter.

Almost twenty years later, she -- or those using a well-worn template pretending to be her -- are still at it.

Yes, Mariam and me have had quite a history of exchanges.  Once -- back in '03 or '04 -- I actually initiated a bit of an online duel between two different Mariams that had inadvertently contacted my character at the same time.  Both claimed to be the real deal and insisted the other was a fake.

Cracked me up.

Ol' Mariam/Maryam is apparently still out there.  And so are a plentitude of scammers, using her as their scam vehicle.  And they present recipients with all sorts of photographic "proof" of authenticity, like:

...and:

...and of course, the 'stash':

Just as convincing now as it was in 2000.

The latest one I'm just done with has been really inept.  'She' first contacted my character in March of 2017:

From: Hajia (Mrs.) Mariam Abacha <mariamabacaha@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, March 10, 2017 12:45:19 PM
Subject: This is personal and highly confidential

 

Dear Sir,

This is personal and highly confidential although I am really very sorry for the embarrassment of intruding into your privacy especially as we have not had previous correspondences before this mail.I have been searching for a high profile international business man that can help me to secure and manage my funds.

I am Dr.Mrs. Mariam Abacha wife of Late Gen. Sanni Abacha, ex-military Head of State (Federal Republic of Nigeria) who died of heart problem while still on active service on the 8th of June 1998.I am contacting you in view of the fact that we will be of great assistance to each other especially in the area of developing a cordial business relationship and also because of my need to deal with persons with whom I have not had any dealings with before due to the privacy and highly confidentiality the business I need your assistance demands.

Since the death of my husband, I have been subjected to all sorts of harassment's, intimidation's and inhumane treatments, with negative reports emanating from the government and the press regarding my husband's past military regime and my eldest son Mohammed who has been held by  government and released just some months back is being asked to refund $1.2 billion dollars and he is still being arraigned before the federal high court of Nigeria till date.


I have been thrown into a state of confusion, frustration and hopelessness by the present civilian administration, I have been subjected to physical and psychological torture by the security agents in the country.


As a widow that is so traumatizing for me,I have lost confidence with anybody within the country. You must have heard over the media reports and the Internet on the recovery of various huge sums of money deposited by my husband in different security firms abroad, some companies willingly give up their secrets and disclosed our money confidently lodged there or many outright blackmail.


Moreover, they are relenting to make me poor for life but Insha Allah they will not succeed.I got your contacts through my personal research, and out of desperation decided to reach you through this medium. Most of our trusted Associates betrayed us because of Ministerial Jobs and Appointments. I currently have within my reach the sum $230,000,000.00 (Two hundred and thirty million us dollars cash.) which we intend to use for investment purposes like real estate development, bonded securities as well as some other viable business ventures abroad that I can be introduced to if the arises.

After our Government had seized virtually all our assets, this money came as my last hope, a payback contract deal between my late husband and a Russian Firm relating to our country’s multi-billion dollar Ajaokuta Steel Plant.

The Russian partners returned my husbands benevolence and kindness to them by sending my late husbands share of this stated amount after his death, they carefully lodged it into a security vault in Africa country withheld for security reasons in accordance to my instructions as the next of kin to my late husband.

The good thing about this arrangement is that no record ever existed concerning the money traceable by the government because there is no documentation showing that we received this money from our Russian business partners and also it has no illegal association with nobody here in Nigeria.

Even the security firm where the funds were deposited does not know the contents to be money as I carefully instructed the Director of the Russian firm to make the deposit and declare the consignment to contain just FAMILY VALUABLES FOR THE ABACHA FAMILY MEANT FOR A FOREIGN BUSINESS ASSOCIATE.

Due to the situation in our country concerning government attitude towards my family and our assets, it has become quite impossible for me to make use of the money within and outside our country without raising eyebrows, that is why I need your assistance as a neutral individual and a foreigner to help us arrange for the investment and handling of this said funds.

I will need you to contact me strictly by this private confidential email address so that we can talk about this and plan about the possible claim and transfer of the consignment into your name as my family foreign business partner who will claim the consignment.

As soon a I receive a word from you, I will give you further proof of the deposit details so that we can know how to move further for the claim. You can make further confirmations to this through this reference:

(Front page BBC World news . You can check it through these contact websites:

1) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1606565.stm

2)http://www.nairaland.com/823498/sani-abacha-honest-one-nigerias/11 4)

3) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1935646.stm

4)http://africansuntimes.com/2013/04/fresh-abacha-n3-2tr-loot-baby-thieves-looming-power-and-fuel-scarcity-reported-in-nigeria/


The last transfer of Twenty one Million United States Dollars (US$21,000,000) I made into a friend's foreign account in Europe, after the successful transfer, my friend denied me because of my restricted movement within and outside Nigeria. This is the main point why I needed your help. We have lost so much trying to make transfers through some of my husband’s associates who at last failed us and disappeared into thin air, this you can confirm further through the magazine clip I attached along with this mail. This fund is considered as the main source of my family's future hope. My consultant who is also my close Confidant would be able to establish an investment plan with your assistance on our family’s behalf until I come out of my travail.

I hereby use this opportunity to implore you to exercise the utmost indulgence and keep this matter extra ordinarily confidential.
Remember to include your direct private email and cell phone for easy communication for my Consultant.

I wait patiently for your response.
Yours truly,
Hajia (Mrs.) Mariam Abacha.  

 

 

My character wrote back that very same day:

 

 

How can this email you've sent me be embarrassing?  Only I am seeing it.  Your tale here sounds like it has all the elements needed for a drama novel.  As for the amount of money involved...this sounds highly intriguing, Ma'am.  Do tell me more.  

 

And that was the last I heard from ol' Mariam/Maryam on this thread.

 

Until 12/6/2018:

 

 

Dear Jack,

How are you doing? Hope you are in good condition of health.  I want to refer you to our discussion of 10th March; 2017 regarding an investment proposal of 230,000,000 dollars (Two Hundred and Thirty Million Dollars) which you said the amount is intriguing. There was some fundamental issues that aroused  after I contacted you which made me to ceased communication with you till this moment. However, the air has been cleared and we are in better position to commence our business discussion. Regarding the amount of money involved, you might found it intriguing based on your financial capacity and the type of transaction you have been involved in. You should know that I was the wife of a former head of state, this amount of money  is never too big nor too small for me because I had the opportunity to be involved in transactions that runs into billions of dollars.

I want you to state your interest and readiness to commence this transaction. Confirm that to me as soon as possible so that I can give you further directives regarding this transaction.  

 

And that's when 'Jack' went to work:

 

 

You're just NOW getting around to an email from March 10 of 2017???

What the flying fish f**k???

You have some serious efficiency deficiencies in your operation.

A friend asked me to tell you that.  

 

 

The 'friend' in this case was my email-editing-gone-wild pet rock, Seymour.  He's had a round or twenty with ol' Mariam/Maryam hisself.

 

At any rate, now that she'd dusted off the scam, she felt it necessary to 'splain it:

 

You maybe right to an extent in all your assertions. But if you had gone through my first email of 2017 to you very well, you will understand some of the constraint I have been facing since the death of my husband. The reason why I stopped communicating with you any further in 2017 was nothing but a fresh attack I received from the current government. I was framed up and charged over financial misconduct. I just won the case last two months. Because of that court case, I was forced to put a stop to our business discussion until the matter is over.

Now that the air has been cleared, I deemed it secured for us to commence our discussion on how to finalize this transaction. First of all, I want to know your capacity towards handling this kind of project.  

 

'Jack' wasn't all that understanding:

 

 

I have all kinds of capacibilites to handle a cornudopia of stuff.  That said, did your husband just die?  And what have you been doing for the past two months, since you say you cleared the air two months ago?  I can't get bogged down in a deal that takes loads and loads of time with ox cart loads of complications.  Get to the rat killing, and do it more expediently than you've been.  

 

 

This deal as a matter of fact will not have us much time to accomplish only if we could dedicate our time to it. Before I give you full details on how this transaction will be implemented, I need you to tell me about yourself and also send me your copy of identification for me to know you properly.   

 

 

You're going to have to do a better job of showing what your commitment to this deal is, since you've procrastinated on this for more than a year.  I need to know YOU better, first.  I need references, referrals, testimonials, and of course, your bona fides.  And I need them before this decade expires.  

 

 

I did not procrastinate on this transaction at all, The reason for the delay is for security reasons which I have explained to you in details in my previous messages. My commitment to this transaction is trusting you totally believing that you will not betray me when you receive this fund in your custody. The fund which is currently in an  an escrow account will be processed and transfer to you bank account by the paying bank. After knowing you better, I will introduce you to the bank  so that the ownership of the fund could be change to your name.

To explain myself a little further, I am the wife of former Military President of Nigeria General Sani Abacha who died in the office while serving as a president.  Since his death, the government of Nigeria has been on trail confiscating all his assets, fund and investment. This 230 million dollars is one of the funds my family deposited in the bank which the government is get to discovered. Because of this reason, your assistance is needed to enable us safeguard this fund. Please, explain yourself more to me so that we can commence this transaction without delay.

 

You initially contacted me 3/11/17.  I responded promptly.  Your response to me wasn't made until 12/6/18.  That's over a year and a half.  Now, I asked you a question regarding you filling me in more about you.  You kinda did that.  But I also asked for references, referrals, testimonials and bona fides.  You ain't made with those yet.  Do so now so we can proceed.  Don't expect me to wait around for you to respond to this in 2020.  You might have vaporlocked by then.  

 

 

I do not like the way you write to me.  I am the wife of former Military President of Nigeria General Sani Abacha.  I demand you speak more respectful to me.  

 

And she included what she claimed to be her current passport...which of course, it wasn't:

 

 

That's the same photo the first 'Miriam' used back in 2000.  Funny, funny scammer.  Which of course I had to respond to:

Fascinating.  You know, your picture hasn't changed since 2000.  How do you do it?  Mud packs?  Formaldehyde?

what do you mean with that?  This is serious business if you can handle it.

Oh puh-LLLEEEEASE, spare me the sanctimonkey.  Your alleged spouse was a  corrupt dictator, killed by another corrupt dictator.  You were living off the loot he stole.  You apparently still are.  You're so full of sh*t that if I put you in the middle of a 400 acre field and stepped on your foot, enough fertilizer would run out of your ears to cover the whole expanse a foot deep.  If you want my help, you'll do as I said and provide what I expect you to provide.  Otherwise you'll find yourself negotiating with my pet rock.  And he's not as patient as I am.  

 

This seems to momentarily give ol' Mariam/Maryam pause and confusion:


 Now you have my copy of identification. Kindly send yours in return if we are to proceed.  


But my character wants more in terms of personal information:


Your picture doesn't tell me enough.  What I wanted to know was if you did it doggie style; but more importantly and to the point I want to know this:  how does the spouse of a deposed corrupt Nigerian genital manage to keep so much pillaged loot out of the hands of the authorities?  Asking for a friend.

 

Now it's been a week since that response was sent.  So is that the last of Mariam/Maryam Abacha, the 2018 version?  Or will she get back to my pet rock in 2020?

 

Stay tuned...