Nigeria To Hand Over Charles Taylor

Nigeria said Saturday it will hand over exiled former Liberian president and warlord Charles Taylor, wanted for trial on war crimes by a U.N.-backed court.

The Nigerian government said Liberia was free to take Taylor into custody. But he could be sent directly to Sierra Leone, where a U.N.-backed court has indicted him on 17 counts of war crimes for his role in supporting that country's rebel movement during a 1991-2001 civil war.

Newly inaugurated Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf called for Nigeria to hand over Taylor, who ruled Liberia for six years of bloody civil war until 2003, during her visit to Washington this week.

Taylor is accused of aiding and directing a vicious rebel movement in neighboring Sierra Leone and trading guns and diamonds with insurgents infamous for hacking off the limbs of civilians. He has been indicted on charges of committing war crimes by a U.N. tribunal.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had said he would discuss the request with regional leaders, said Saturday he agreed to hand over Taylor to Liberia. Obasanjo's decision came as he prepares to visit Washington on Wednesday.

Obasanjo has "informed President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf that the government of Liberia is free to take former President Charles Taylor into its custody," the presidency said in a statement.

There was no word on when Taylor could be sent back. Liberian officials were not immediately available for comment.

A one-time warlord and rebel leader himself, Obasanjo granted Taylor asylum to help end Liberia's 1989-2003 civil war, which Taylor had started.

Obasanjo was lauded at the time for brokering peace and helping arrange Liberia's transitional administration, but has recently come under pressure to hand Taylor to the war crimes tribunal.

He said he would accede to any request from a democratically elected Liberian leader.

Sirleaf, who's election in November ended Liberia's postwar administration, had said extraditing Taylor was not a priority for her government.

Her request for extradition while on an official visit to the United States, prompted speculation that she had changed her mind under pressure from U.S. officials who could offer substantial aid.