Nigerian astronaut trapped in space may just be the funniest scam ever

Dr Bakare Tunde, the cousin of the stranded man, pleads for help in the hilariously rubbish spam email.

He reveals how Air Force Major Abacha Tunde – the first African in space – blasted off in 1989.

But his ride home with the Russians was cancelled when the Soviet Union collapsed, says the doc, naming the wrong year.

BYE BYE: Sorry Abacha, communism's collapsed so we gave your seat to a bag of potatoes

For some reason, the political upheaval caused the cosmonauts to use Tunde"s space for cargo, leaving him lost in the cosmos.

Now after 14 years among the stars – meaning 13 years are unaccounted for – he is ready to retu home from his secret space station.

And, of course, there is a business opportunity because Tunde"s uncollected wages with interest are worth £10million.

But the doc and his pals are civil servants, so they can"t open or operate foreign accounts, obviously.

So if you just hand over your bank details, they"ll send you the lot and let you keep 20 per cent.

Considering the money doesn"t actually exist, you"d think they could be a bit more generous.

Anyway, using the dosh the doc will be able to pay the Russians £2million for a flight back.

In the meantime, Tunde is in "good humour” and has been kept going by occasional supply flights.

DEAR MR SIR: The most overpaid astronaut ever needs your help

Dr Bakare doesn"t go into why these flights couldn"t bring back his cousin, but oh well never mind.

He rounds up by asking you to take quick action because we are behind schedule – obviously your fault.

The scam originates from the Nigerian capital, Abuja, but its unclear if anyone has fallen for it.