Nigeria wants Taylor gone

2006-03-29 14:04

Abuja - Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo ordered on Wednesday that exiled former Liberian leader Charles Taylor be immediately sent back to his homeland, hours after the war crimes suspect was recaptured while trying to flee.

Information Minister Frank Nweke told reporters Obasanjo had "ordered the immediate repatriation of Charles Taylor to Liberia.., which has requested custody".

The minister was speaking shortly after police confirmed that Taylor, who disappeared from his Nigerian home in exile on Monday, had been arrested on Nigeria's northeastern border while trying to escape into Cameroon.

"Nigerian security forces, on the order of President Obasanjo, last night apprehended former Liberian president Charles Taylor in Gambaru, a Nigerian border town," Nweke said.

"The matter has since been reported to President Obasanjo who is currently in the United States of America where he is scheduled to meet President George Bush later today," he added.

The United States has led calls for Nigeria to detain and extradite Taylor and expressed "deep concern" at news of his disappearance, insisting that it was Obasanjo's responsibility to ensure his guest faces justice.

Nweke said the presidents would discuss "security, conflict resolution and development in Africa, including the disappearance of Charles Taylor from Calabar, his abode of more than two years."

- AFP