NIGERIA: Charles Taylor disappears in Nigeria
published: Wednesday | March 29, 2006

TAYLOR

ABUJA (REUTERS):

Former Liberian president Charles Taylor, wanted for war crimes by a court in Sierra Leone, has disappeared from his residence in southeastern Nigeria, the Nigerian presidency said yesterday.

The disappearance appeared to be a major embarrassment for Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was due to fly to the United States yesterday, because Washington has been pressing for Taylor's handover for years.

Taylor had lived in Nigeria since 2003, when he stepped down as part of a deal to end Liberia's 14-year civil war that spilled over into nearby countries.