Charles Taylor escape and subsequent arrest might have been staged according to impeccable security sources in Nigeria. Serious doubts are being expressed about his so-called ‘escape’ because of the bewildering lack of knowledge about his escape by the Cross River State police commissioner Alhaji Dalami Yar-Dua, who denied that Taylor was missing when he was confronted with the question early yesterday at his office in Calabar.

Also, Charles Taylor daughter, 20 year old Desiree denied repeatedly to the local media that her father had escaped, insisting that her father was upstairs, when peppered with much questions about Taylor’s escape she said, "Him go where," she asked in pidgin English, saying "This Africa self, I don't know what is their problem, our papa is there." according to the Guardian newspaper. Charles Taylor was granted asylum by Nigeria after he agreed to step down from power to give peace a chance in Liberia. The asylum conditions, which were yet to be made public, were brokered by African leaders and Western diplomats. After Charles Taylor stepped down from power he was flown directly to Nigeria accompanied by some African leaders.

 The latest twist to Taylor’s fate came as a result of consistent US government demand that he be brought to trial in Freetown, Sierra Leone at the UN Special Tribunal constituted to deal with war crimes perpetrated by Sierra Leonean rebels sponsored by Charles Taylor.

 Saharareporters was informed by sources within Nigerian security agencies that there was no way Charles Taylor could have escaped from Calabar without active support of the security agencies in Nigeria as he travels around always surrounded by armed guards and been closely followed and monitored by a retinue of plain cloth security agents.

Since Charles Taylor had close connections with powerful interests in Nigeria especially elements within the military who had engaged in illegal diamond businesses with him in Liberia during the ECOMOG years his extradition was creating security nightmares for President Obasanjo who had secured a soft landing for Charles Taylor in Nigeria. With a retinue of staff, some hard cash said to be close to $6 million and diamond worth $10 million Charles Taylor became a magnet to the super corrupt Nigerian political elite. Charles Taylor was also accompanied to Nigeria by his own private jet which he later sold to some Nigerian government officials according to our source who refused to be named.

 As of Sunday night, some members of President Obasanjo was said to be worried about his impending trip to Washington, D.C where they were sure he would be bombarded with question about his desire to manipulate the Nigerian constitution to seek a third term in office especially with the ‘deadly’ editorial by the New York Times said to have rattled president in a serious way.

“He was certainly upset and considered cancelling his trip to the US” said our source.  The option of encouraging Charles Taylor to escape was agreed upon as the best option and immediately a presidential team was dispatched from Abuja to go into Calabar where they met with the governor Donald Duke. They were said to have flown Charles Taylor out of Margaret Ekpo International Airport Calabar to Abuja on Monday night and later to another Northern city from where they dramatized his so-called ‘arrest’ from a border town in Maiduguri near the Cameroonian border. After the plot was hatched President Obasanjo left for the US where he was scheduled to meet with the US President even as Washington left open the option of cancelling his visit with the US.

President Obasanjo wasn’t worried. He instructed his VP to swear-in a panel to investigate Charles Taylor’s disappearance from his mansion while the Police high command announced that they had arrested about 22 policemen guarding Charles Taylor.

The biggest reason why Charles Taylor was never handed over to Liberia was because he had promised to expose all his business dealings with powerful elements within Nigeria and also partly because of his serious network within the Nigerian military.

The latest measure is expected to take care of the dilemma, most importantly; President Obasanjo will be celebrated at James Bond in Washington today. They outfoxed Charles Taylor; he should have known that they were only after his diamonds and money, our source lamented.

Robot  # 1 | 29.03.2006 08:00

Charles Taylor escape and subsequent arrest might have been staged according to impeccable security sources in Nigeria. Serious doubts are being expressed about his so-called ‘escape’ because of the bewildering lack of knowledge about his escape by the Cross River State police commissioner Alhaji Dalami Yar-Dua, who denied that Taylor was missing when he was confronted with the question early yesterday at his office in Calabar....Read the full article.

Hakim  # 2 | 29.03.2006 08:11

Charles Taylor escape and subsequent arrest might have been staged according to impeccable security sources in Nigeria. What impeccable security sources? Yesterday another conspiracy theorist told us Charles Taylor was accompanied to calabar airport by the governor of Cross rover state. If Charles Taylor was never caught we would never know know the true story, would we? I think you will do better as fiction writer than as a journalist.

Deregistered  # 3 | 29.03.2006 08:14

Yes oh! Sowore, you seem to be the first person to smell the coffee. Thanks for bringing this very critical piece of news to us. Can you imagine a government that can't find the killer of it's attorney general apprehending Charles Taylor on the border. C'mmon, someone thought they could fool all of us with this Charles Taylor's charade! May your days be long!

AKETE  # 4 | 29.03.2006 08:18

If You Don't Report Their Point Of View, Of Course, You Are Suddenly 'conspiracy Theorist', Hallucinating And Possessed By The Devil Or Better Still A Fiction Writer. So, Hakim , Tell Me Charles Taylor Packed His Bags And He Left Calabar And Drove All The Way To Maiduguri In A Bentley, 505 Or Mercedes Benz Or Osondu Owendu Bus To Maiduguri, About 15 Hours Unnoticed. Tufiakwa!!! Some Will Remain Fools Forever!!!

Hakim  # 5 | 29.03.2006 08:57

Akete I won't decend to your level.

Derin  # 6 | 29.03.2006 09:40

Runaway former Liberian president Charles Taylor who disappeared from Calabar on Monday was today arrested by immigration officers at Gamboru Ngala, in Borno, a border town with the Cameroon. The Liberian warlord who has been on exile in Nigeria since 2003, mysteriously escaped from his residence in Calabar where he has been in protective custody. Taylor’s convoy was intercepted by vigilant Nigerian immigration officers at about 6.30 a. m. while attempting to slip out of the country. Malam Mohammed Bello, a controller of immigration in Maiduguri, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Taylor was intercepted while driving in a golden jeep with “Ambassador” on its plate number. He said Taylor, who was in company of his wife, was clad in a white traditional flowing gown “Agbada” without a cap. -PM NEWS CURIOUS STATEMENT :Bello said a convoy was escorting the former warlord when they were intercepted, but that the escort escaped arrest, leaving Taylor and his wife.

Abraxas  # 7 | 29.03.2006 10:04

Hi, Mr. Hakim, As you should know very well, throughout the 30 months (or so) that Mr. Charles Taylor was in Nigeria, he was virtually Calabar-bound, more or less, under the protective custody of over 20 uniformed and plain-clothed Nigerian security operatives. It is therefore safe to assume that Mr. Charles Taylor, given his understandably limited familiarity with the Nigerian terrain, may only be able to find his way, unassisted, within a few kilometres, or so, from his VIP exile residence in Calabar. To believe that Mr. Charles Taylor would have risked leaving the familiar territory of Calabar in the Niger Delta region, and proceed UNASSISTED, not to Abuja, or Lagos, but to a remote border crossing at Gamboru-Ngala, several hundreds of kilometres away from Calabar, in Borno State, near the Sahara desert, is to stretch your fertile imagination beyond its tender limit of elasticity! It is therefore safe to say that Mr. Charles Taylor’s escape and subsequent arrest MIGHT have been STAGE-MANAGED, “according to impeccable security sources in Nigeria”. You may wish to ask: “What impeccable security sources?” Well, it is those IMPECCABLE SOURCES that are not necessarily at YOUR disposal, that do not go about telling every doubting Nigerian that they are genuine SECURITY OPERATIVES, like our useless SSS guys habitually do, complete with their ID cards, pistols, dark glasses, ties and winter jackets to match! You said that yesterday, another conspiracy theorist told us that Mr. Charles Taylor was accompanied to Calabar airport by the governor of Cross River State. What is the conspiracy theory in observing what happened in Calabar airport, from the point of view of the observing so-called conspiracy theorist? What if, indeed, Mr. Charles Taylor was shepherded by Governor Donald Duke of Cross River State, who was, as usual, COMMANDED by Nigeria’s General Officer Commanding, General Olusegun (Baba) Obasanjo, to be in Abuja with immediate effect, like Nigerian governors are typically summoned at minimum notice to Abuja? What if both Mr. Charles Taylor and the governor landed Abuja, and subsequently, Mr. Charles Taylor was HELPED to flee Nigeria via the Borno State-Cameroon border, which I believe, Mr. Charles Taylor, just like several million Nigerians, may not even know exists? Speculative as it might sound, it is perfectly feasible. THIS IS NIGERIA. THIS IS OBASANJO'S NIGERIA. Now that Mr. Charles Taylor has been caught (Thank God!), sooner or later, we will begin to know the real story. By then, Mr. Hakim, you will hear sweeter stories that are stranger than fiction, straight from the mouth of the executive jail bird himself, His Excellency, Diamond Baron Charles Taylor himself. Please, stay tuned, and be patient, my good friend. I believe his trial for crimes agains humanity will be more entertaiing than the trials of Brother Jero, or O.J. Simpson, or even Slobodan Milosevic. Cheerio! Don Juan Carlos Abraxas (III)

senabdalla  # 8 | 29.03.2006 10:21

Apparently, Mr. Bush was reconsidering not receiving OBJ at the White House until he had found Taylor, so the guy had a night vigil; and hurray Taylor is produced near Lake Chad. Hmmmmmmm...wonders will never end.

Hakim  # 9 | 29.03.2006 10:26

Abraxas, I guess it is therefore correct to conclude that Charles Taylor was assisted by Amercan government to escape from high security prison in Boston, the same way Alamieyeseigha was assisted by the British government to escape for London. You can not blame your lack of imagination on me because it is obvious that you, Akete and Sowore does not believe anybody can ascape from anywhre without being assisted by the government, well that is not always the case. It is a Nigerian thing i guess, nothing ever happens without somebody being behind it. In Nigeria you can not die a natural death, somebody must be responsible, even the eclipse of the sun is the handiwork of witches and wizards. Mind you i got my information from impeccable but faceless sources.

gwobezentashi  # 10 | 29.03.2006 10:30

Interesting dimension and theory Sowore but I dare say that we need clarity from the Government. Do we really know what our government's policy is with regards to Taylor and how it sits with our obligations to international institutions? One minute he is our guest, then we hear he is in protective custody surrounded by armed guards, then we hear he is free to come and go. Next we hear he plays tennis with Gov. Duke, drives around in diplomatic plates and shops in downtown Calabar unencumbered. Then we hear that we are asking Liberia to come and take him. Then we hear that he has escaped! Today we have arrested him in Borno!! Can somebody tell us what is going on? Who is zooming whom? So far it appears that we are not clear as to what we are doing and making it up as we go along. That cannot help our standing in the international community (or even among ourselves). Could it be that our Government prefers to encourage this type of speculation by its cloak and dagger approach to governance? Is this the lack of sincerity we keep hearing about? Even the Government's supporters on this board are at sea in terms of what it's objectives are. No sooner had they found their story, then the tables are turned on them. Now we have a "high powered" enquiry whose report like so many before it may never see the light of day. It is like we are daily moving from one fiasco to the next. Last week it was the census, today it is Taylor. Tommorrow, another crisis of confidence? Can we do anything transparently and honourably? I am scratching and shaking my head Bolaji. Aluta! Gwobezentashi

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