ABUJA, Nigeria, March 28 (UPI) -- Former Liberia President Charles Taylor, charged with war crimes, reportedly is missing from his exile in Nigeria.
Taylor, who stepped down in 2003 that ended the civil war in Liberia, apparently went missing from his villa after Nigeria announced it would allow Liberia to arrest him, reports the BBC.
The United States and Liberia have said it is Nigeria's responsibility to deliver Taylor to a United Nations-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone.
The tribunal says Taylor is responsible for about 250,000 deaths in Sierra Leone and elsewhere in West Africa.
A spokeswoman for Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said her country is investigation Taylor's disappearance. She said all security people in charge of looking after Taylor have been arrested.
Separately, The Times of London reported that Liberia fears Nigeria will allow Taylor to slip out of the country to escape extradition to the war crimes tribunal.
His extradition was sought by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the newly elected leader of Liberia. The Times said Johnson-Sirleaf may have angered Obasanjo by bringing the issue directly to U.S. President George Bush during her recent visit to Washington.
