Who is Maryam Abacha?

by Steven Dahlman

“...in the Nigerian lexicon, the name Abacha has become synonymous with evil.”

Hajiya Maryam Abacha is the widow of the late Nigerian head of state, General Sani Abacha, who died June 8, 1998.
These are tough days for Maryam. She's on trial for embezzlement of public funds and human rights abuses. More than $2 billion dollars in local and foreign currencies have been seized from the family, along with 34 luxury houses and 54 luxury cars. $645 million in Abacha family bank accounts have been frozen in Switzerland. Hundreds of millions more have been frozen in Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.
Maryam has claimed her husband did not steal any money, just “put away the funds in some foreign accounts for safe keeping.”
Shortly after her husband's death, Maryam was caught trying to depart Nigeria with more than 30 suitcases stuffed with U.S. dollars. The family has hired lawyers in Nigeria, Great Britain, and the United States, including O.J. Simpson lawyer Johnnie Cochran.
While not actually imprisoned, Maryam is under 24-hour surveillance by the police, and she is banned from leaving the country. That may very well amount to house arrest, but her house – a blond-stone mansion with an imported red tile roof – is said to sprawl over acres of gardens patrolled by strutting peacocks.

The Abacha family compound in Lagos. Photo obtained from Motherland Nigeria.
Photo of Maryam Abacha obtained from Nigeriaworld.

Sani Abacha liked to fool around

Although the official cause of death was heart attack, many suspect Sani Abacha was given cyanide as he frolicked with three prostitutes from India. The only mystery seems to be whether it was slipped into Viagra tablets or just an apple. Experts say cyanide can cause a heart attack, and Maryam was quoted as saying she saw her husband's mouth foaming shortly after he died.

General Sani Abacha meets with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Togo on March 27, 1998. Photo obtained from United Nations.

In a brutal country, Sani Abacha led by example. He ordered the hanging of human-rights activist and poet Ken Saro-Wiwa, which was videotaped for Sani's viewing pleasure. Reportedly, it took three attempts to hang Saro-Wiwa.

The Nigerian government estimates that Abacha swiped more than $4 billion during his five-year reign from 1993 to 1998. Most of the money came from crooked oil deals. Nigeria is an oil-rich country although the per-capita income is less than $300.

According to the Liberian Orbit, Sani had an affair with a princess from the Delta State. His wife caught him in bed, once with a woman who was a former bank chairman, another time with a member of the first lady's staff.

The eldest son

Maryam's son, Mohammed, is being tried for the murder of the wife of Chief M.K.O. Abiola, who won Nigeria's 1993 presidential election, which Sani Abacha then annulled. He's also been indicted by the Swiss government on money laundering charges.

In an open letter to Mrs. Mariam Abacha, American political scientist Tonye David-West Jr., Ph.D, accuses Mohammed Abacha of living a lavish lifestyle at the expense of the Nigerian treasury, and torturing political prisoners with electric prods. He says in the Nigerian lexicon, the name “Abacha” has become synonymous with “evil.”

According to CNN, Sani Abacha had six sons and three daughters.

Mohammed leaves the courthouse during his trial. Photo obtained from Newsweek.

Sources

NigeriaWorld

Bermuda Sun

The Tribune (Indian)

The Washington Post