Nigeria Says Taylor Cannot Stay If Terms of Asylum Violated

NEW YORK—A representative of Nigeria’s government yesterday said that indicted war criminal and former Liberian president Charles Taylor cannot remain in Nigeria if he is shown to have interfered in Liberian and regional politics, in breach of the terms of his asylum.

Okon Efiong Isong, Minister Counsellor in Nigeria’s United Nations Mission, was speaking at an event organized by the Open Society Justice Initiative at UN headquarters to launch a Coalition for International Justice report tracing Taylor’s financing before and since his removal to Nigeria in August 2003. Nigeria, Efiong said, granted Taylor asylum “for the purpose of enhancing peace in Liberia,” on condition that he cease all political activity in the region.

But the report, written by journalist Douglas Farah and Coalition for International Justice staff, alleges that Taylor has used his money to influence the Liberian presidential elections, set for October. Taylor, who is accused of having financed wars in both Liberia and Sierra Leone, has also been linked to an assassination attempt on Guinean president Lansana Conté earlier this year.

According to Efiong, “If the government is convinced that Taylor has violated his terms of asylum, then you can be sure—the world community can be sure—that Mr. Taylor cannot take cover in Nigeria.”

The Special Court for Sierra Leone, which has indicted Taylor on 17 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, has also said that Taylor continues to sow instability in West Africa. And just two weeks ago, Liberian media reported that the leader of a political party founded by Taylor has claimed that the former warlord is deeply involved in the selection of presidential candidates in Liberia.

In February 2005, the Nigerian parliamentary committee on foreign affairs called for Taylor to be turned over to face trial before the Special Court. A lawsuit currently pending before Nigeria’s High Court in Abuja seeks revocation of Taylor’s asylum status. The case is being pursued by Nigerian victims of atrocities carried out by Taylor-backed troops in Sierra Leone.

Following Taylor’s Money: A Path of War and Destruction is available at: www.cij.org.