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elq · 03-29-2006, 10:25 AM

Dem ketch Chucky Boi...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa...ria/index.html
LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- Former Liberian President Charles Taylor was captured and arrested as he tried to slip out of Nigeria early Wednesday, just days after that country said Liberian authorities could repatriate the one-time warlord wanted for war crimes.

Taylor vanished Monday night from the Nigerian villa where he had been living in exile since 2003, prompting an international outcry. He was taken into custody by border guards in southeast Nigeria as he tried to cross into Cameroon, said national police spokesman Haz Iwendi.

"I suppose there is a good deal of relief everywhere," Nigerian government spokesman Femi Fani-Kayode said of Taylor's capture. It shows that Nigeria is living up to its responsibilities, the spokesman added.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was in Washington Wednesday to meet with President Bush, ordered an investigation into how Taylor was able to elude his security detail, and he had the guards arrested. The probe should be finished in about two weeks, Fani-Kayode told CNN.

"The president has ordered the immediate repatriation of Charles Taylor to Liberia, and he is to be placed in the custody of the government of Liberia," Fani-Kayode said.

The 58-year-old former Liberian leader had been living in a villa in Calabar since August 2003 as a guest of the Nigerian government. Nigeria granted asylum to Taylor under an agreement that helped end Liberia's 14-year civil war. He was not held under house arrest.

On Saturday, the Nigerian government agreed to allow Liberian authorities to detain Taylor and take him back to Liberia.

A senior U.S. State Department official said although the former warlord appears to be in custody, "the terms of Taylor's escape are not fully clear."

The official said National Security Adviser Steve Hadley called his counterpart in Nigeria and told him, "you guys were in charge of him and the terms of his stay, and bear responsibility for the fact" that he tried to leave.

How the Nigerians handle the incident will affect the country's relationship with the United States, the official said, quoting Hadley. The United States wants an assurance that Taylor stands trial on the Sierra Leone charges.

Taylor was Liberia's president from 1997 until he was forced from office in 2003. A court in neighboring Sierra Leone indicted him on 17 counts of alleged war crimes after accusing him of supporting rebels in that country who were committing atrocities against civilians.

The former warlord has said he is willing to go before a war crimes tribunal at The Hague, Netherlands, but did not want to be tried in Sierra Leone.

03-29-2006, 10:25 AM	#1 (permalink)
elq Cleophus aka pupah lashie Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 22,011 Credits: 1,023	Former Liberian president arrested Dem ketch Chucky Boi... http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa...ria/index.html LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- Former Liberian President Charles Taylor was captured and arrested as he tried to slip out of Nigeria early Wednesday, just days after that country said Liberian authorities could repatriate the one-time warlord wanted for war crimes. Taylor vanished Monday night from the Nigerian villa where he had been living in exile since 2003, prompting an international outcry. He was taken into custody by border guards in southeast Nigeria as he tried to cross into Cameroon, said national police spokesman Haz Iwendi. "I suppose there is a good deal of relief everywhere," Nigerian government spokesman Femi Fani-Kayode said of Taylor's capture. It shows that Nigeria is living up to its responsibilities, the spokesman added. President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was in Washington Wednesday to meet with President Bush, ordered an investigation into how Taylor was able to elude his security detail, and he had the guards arrested. The probe should be finished in about two weeks, Fani-Kayode told CNN. "The president has ordered the immediate repatriation of Charles Taylor to Liberia, and he is to be placed in the custody of the government of Liberia," Fani-Kayode said. The 58-year-old former Liberian leader had been living in a villa in Calabar since August 2003 as a guest of the Nigerian government. Nigeria granted asylum to Taylor under an agreement that helped end Liberia's 14-year civil war. He was not held under house arrest. On Saturday, the Nigerian government agreed to allow Liberian authorities to detain Taylor and take him back to Liberia. A senior U.S. State Department official said although the former warlord appears to be in custody, "the terms of Taylor's escape are not fully clear." The official said National Security Adviser Steve Hadley called his counterpart in Nigeria and told him, "you guys were in charge of him and the terms of his stay, and bear responsibility for the fact" that he tried to leave. How the Nigerians handle the incident will affect the country's relationship with the United States, the official said, quoting Hadley. The United States wants an assurance that Taylor stands trial on the Sierra Leone charges. Taylor was Liberia's president from 1997 until he was forced from office in 2003. A court in neighboring Sierra Leone indicted him on 17 counts of alleged war crimes after accusing him of supporting rebels in that country who were committing atrocities against civilians. The former warlord has said he is willing to go before a war crimes tribunal at The Hague, Netherlands, but did not want to be tried in Sierra Leone.