Gamboru, Nigeria
Nigerian police nabbed deposed Liberian leader Charles Taylor this week as he was trying to cross into Cameroon carrying wads of cash. Taylor had disappeared from his Nigerian villa a few days before, just after Nigeria agreed to extradite him to a U.N. war-crimes tribunal. He was indicted for directing a brutal insurgency in Sierra Leone that was notorious for its use of child soldiers who chopped off villagers’ limbs. He was also responsible for 14 years of civil war in Liberia. Nigeria gave him refuge in 2003 as part of an internationally brokered deal to end that war. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has ordered Taylor’s immediate transfer to Liberia. All 22 officers responsible for guarding his villa have been arrested.
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