Is The Purported Escape Of Charles Taylor A Hoax,
Orchestrated Publicity Stunt and Mischief?

March 31, 2006—There are indications that Charles Taylor’s purported escape and subsequent arrest might have been a staged diversion and publicity stunt by Obasanjo ‘kitchen cabinet’, based on reports reaching our office.

Our assessment is based on various factors including the following:

1. According to reports, Mr. Taylor’s 20 years old daughter, Desiree denied repeatedly to the local media that her father had escaped, insisting that her father was upstairs, when reporters inquired about her father’s purported escape.
2. Cross River State police commissioner Alhaji Dalami Yar-Dua, who is the police Chief guarding Taylor also denied that he was missing when confronted with the same question in the heat of the saga at his office in Calabar
3. Charles Taylor could not have escaped from Nigeria because he always travels around surrounded by the nation’s security personnel.
4. Our preliminary research indicates that in Nigeria, the states and cities do not have separate police or security force. The police guarding Mr. Taylor are the same police that ‘captured’ him. President Obasanjo controls the police force.

Background To Taylor’s Asylum In Nigeria

Charles Taylor a former President of Liberia came to power in one of the most awkward form having ‘successfully’ led a brutal guerilla war that captured the seat of government war in the West African nation. As the President of Liberia, His Excellency Charles Taylor was accused of sponsoring Sierra Leonean rebels known for cutting off the arms of their captives and many other human rights violations in his effort to control the large diamond deposit in the tiny West African nation.

The UN Special Tribunal constituted in Sierra Leone had invited Mr. Taylor to answer many charges of human rights violations, an invitation he had since refused to honor.

Bowing to international pressure to stop the carnage as brutal strife continued in Liberia African leaders and Western diplomats brokered asylum for Mr. Taylor to step down and leave Liberia.

President Taylor stepped down from power and was quickly flown directly to Nigeria accompanied by some African leaders under a secret deal.

US government consistently demands that he will be brought to trial at the UN Special Tribunal in Freetown.

President Taylor is reported to be very rich having successfully cornered the rich natural resources of Liberia and Sierra Leon for many years. He may have left Liberia with his loot intact.

President Taylor arrived Nigeria with his private aircraft, luxury automobiles, property, his family and large retinue of staff and was given several mansions located in government-reserved area facing waterfront in Calabar, a city in Eastern Nigeria.

Reports indicate that President Taylor had large contingent of Nigeria security personnel protecting him, screening every one that comes near his presidential residence.

Background Information On Events Leading To The Hoax

On March 5, 2006 the new democratically elected President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf met President Obasanjo in Abuja, Nigeria and requested that Taylor be handed to the UN-backed war crimes court.

According to sources, President Johnson-Sirleaf informed the President Obasanjo that she was under pressure from United States to make the request. Plan for way out in view of pressure from the United States was discussed. President Olusegun Obasanjo, according to sources, invited Charles Taylor to show him the letter. Few days later, President Obasanjo shocked the world when he announced that Liberia could go and take Taylor anytime they want him and added that Mr. Taylor is not under arrest, but a free man in Nigeria. President Johnson-Sirleaf responded that Liberia does not want Charles Taylor and that Nigeria should hand him over to UN tribunal in Sierra Leon.

The UN war crime prosecutor in Sierre Leon immediately dispatched warrant to arrest Taylor to the Nigerian President.

Liberian Money Causes Troubles In Nigeria: Past and Present

Liberia leaders and large stash of cash had been source of trouble in Nigeria in the past.

Information indicate that feud among Nigerian leaders over large cash belonging to former president of Liberia, Sergeant Samuel Doe was the main reason a free and fair presidential election in June 12, 1992 was cancelled in Nigeria. Following the cancellation, Nigeria experienced long period of serious social problems.

Lately in 2003, when international and local pressure forced President Taylor to leave Liberia, Nigeria quickly offered him asylum under very questionable deal. The amount of money the very rich President Taylor brought with him to Nigeria was not made public, but there was indication that certain Nigerian bank was very busy for couple of weeks working all night counting ‘hard currency’, a local reference to U$Dollars, British Pounds, Dutch Marks, Japanese Yen just to mention a few.

This asylum business may have been a financial bonanza for select few in Nigerian leadership.

Hoax As Diversionary Tactics: New Strategy In Foreign Policy

Nigerian President Obasanjo, a former army general is clearly under pressure from the international democratic community to abandon the idea of legislating himself President-for-Life because it never worked anywhere in a democracy.

President Obasanjo was scheduled to visit the American President George W. Bush in the White House on March 29, 2006. The heat was on him to find something good to say to the leader of world democracy and the most powerful man on earth.

In the mind of the ‘experts’ running Nigerian government, Taylor presents an opportunity to boost the image of President Obasanjo and his police force as great partners in the fight on crime and terror. Rambo script was then written to jazz-up the arrest and handover. The ultimate aim could be to dilute the White House discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment in Nigeria.

Another informed argument is that the reported escape was intended to test the reaction of the international community. The Nigerian leadership and former generals including most senior army officers from other ECOMOG nations may not want Mr. Taylor surrendered to the UN out of concern of damage he may wreck when he reveals the details about his partners in looting Liberian and illegal diamond business in Sierra Leon.

The Hoax And Possible Implication

The orchestrated dramatic handover of Mr. Taylor though in the strategy of President Obasanjo foreign policy ‘experts’ may be a publicity stunt, however there are very serious danger. Authentic foreign policy experts are not impressed a bit.

Our intelligence sources indicate that a presidential team sent from Abuja picked up Mr. Taylor and flew out of Margaret Ekpo International Airport Calabar to Abuja on Monday night. From Abuja they went to another Northern city. Large amount of cash was stuffed in one of his cars, he was set on a highway and told to speed off to Cameroon while another team comprising security personnel waiting few blocks away then ‘captured’ him.

While in United States, President Obasanjo denounced President Taylor, his long time friend, confidant, colleague and brother (Pan-Africanist brother and In-law) and called him a bad guest, a clear sign of strained relationship. That also raises more questions.

The hard truth in this whole saga may be very hard to find.

Questions and More Questions

Our research has come up with many serious, some very strange and bizarre questions:

1. The question then is why would President Obasanjo attempt to aide Taylor escape and mislead the international community this way?
2. Do other Africans leaders who assisted in brokering Taylor’s asylum deal get fair share of the booty? Did Baba ‘settle’ (excuse the Nigerian term) appropriately?
3. Will The Pandora’s box be let loose in Sierra Leon? Worrisome items inside the box include accounting for Liberia funds, the amount taken to Nigeria and other countries, how the funds were moved around. Accounting is not a part of African vocabulary, as yet.
4. Will President Taylor, open up on his close confidants and powerful interests in Nigeria and other ECOMOG participants, those who assisted him move around his loots, especially within the government and military who partnered with his illegal diamond businesses in Liberia during the ECOMOG years?
5. Now that Taylor had been delivered to the UN, what is the fate of his ECOMOG friends and partners?
6. Will Liberia money cause another problem in Nigeria?

Very hard questions, indeed.

Conclusion and Way Forward

• From all indications, it appears that some elements in Nigeria and West African nations were not pleased with the request to handover Charles Taylor.

• Nigeria’s foreign policy team needs urgent overhaul and tune-up to tarry with regional superpower responsibilities.

• International community must review the farce called ‘Homegrown Initiatives’ and ‘African Solution to Africa Problems’ with view to scrap them.

• United Nations must quickly move His Excellency Charles Taylor to Europe or North America and commence clinical investigation with view to uncover his support networks in his war effort, looting of Liberia and his partners in the illegal diamond business.

Taylor ’s loot must be accounted for, located and returned to Liberian people.