Getting Charles Taylor: The Hidden Reward Exposed

Liberian warlord and later Liberian President Charles Taylor is on trial in the Hague for war crimes. He fled to Nigeria in 2003, after the Nigerian government offered asylum to Taylor as a temporary measure to end the bloodshed in Liberia and secure a peaceful transition to a new government. He remained in exile in Nigeria until March 2006, when the Nigerian government agreed to a request from Liberia’s government that he be surrendered to the Special Court in Sierra Leone. He was detained by Nigerian police and sent back to Liberia, where he was taken into custody by U.N. forces and transferred to the Special Court in Freetown. That’s the background. In November 2003, President Bush signed legislation to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan --- but the legislation also included a provision for a reward for Taylor’s capture. I broke the story after receiving a tip and then plowing through the lengthy bill. The next morning, apparently after hearing my story on VOA’s Africa service, Taylor’s residence in exile was surrounded by guards, fearful of a raid by unknown forces out to nab Taylor. At that point, the story was picked up by others. I remember one news agency called the U.S. embassy in Lagos for comment and the spokesperson there was caught by surprise. Even the State Department the next day was struggling for a response. Here’s the original story:

Buried deep within the multi-billion dollar bill signed by the President is a provision authorizing payment of two-million dollars in reward money for what is termed "anindictee of the Special Court for Sierra Leone."

The indictee is not named in the legislation. But government and Congressional sources confirm that it is Charles Taylor, who was charged by the UN backed court in June for his alleged support of rebels in Sierra Leone.

Officials of the State Department and the Pentagon were not immediately available to comment on any plans for implementing the bounty offer.

But late last month, the State Department's then-top Africa official, Walter Kansteiner, said Mr. Taylor should face justice before the Special Court. He also disclosed the United States had held talks with Nigeria, where Mr. Taylor has been living in exile, about bringing him before the court.

Mr. Taylor was forced into exile in Nigeria in August under heavy US pressure. His departure paved the way for deployment of peacekeeping forces, including a US military contingent that provided support to African troops sent in to restore calm.

Mr. Taylor has been accused of seeking to influence events in Liberia from exile. But Mr. Kansteiner told reporters that every day that Mr. Taylor was out of the country, his influence was diminishing.

However he said Mr. Taylor, in his words, still needed to be watched "like a hawk" --- especially by Nigeria.

The US reward offer for his capture follows an offer earlier this year by a private British-American security group to kidnap Mr. Taylor and bring him before the court in Sierra Leone.

Northbridge Services Group claimed in a July 22nd statement that it had been asked to assist "certain local organizations" in enforcing the court's indictments.

News reports said the company had held talks with rebels opposed to Mr. Taylor before he went into exile. The firm was subsequently reported as being under investigation by officials in both Britain and the United States for possible violations of UN arms embargoes.

In response to the reported investigations, Northbridge said its proposal for acting as what it termed a "constabulary force" for the Special war crimes Court to bring Mr. Taylor to justice remained in force. But it stressed it would not take part in any activities unless sanctioned by the United Nations. It said it would never violate UN sanctions.

Representatives of the company failed to respond to a request for comment on the new bounty offer.