US embassy cable - 03ABUJA1374

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001374 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/13 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, LI 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: TAYLOR ARRIVES 
 
REF:	(A) ABUJA 1367 
 (B) MONROVIA 928 
 
 
Classified by Charge Dawn Liberi. Reasons 1.5 (b) and 
(d) 
 
 
1. (C)  Former President Charles Taylor arrived in 
Abuja Monday evening August 11 at 2125 local time.  He 
traveled with President Kufuor of Ghana and President 
Chissano of Mozambique, and was greeted by President 
Obasanjo.  After spending several hours in Abuja, he 
and his entire contingent continued to Calabar in 
Rivers State, arriving there at 0300 hours Tuesday, 
August 12.  Long-time Liberia hand, MFA Permanent 
Secretary Dan Hart told A/DCM that Taylor looked 
 
SIPDIS 
forlorn and mentally deflated on his arrival in Abuja. 
All Taylor could do was hang his head and refuse to 
talk. 
 
 
2. (U) Taylor, along with his family, aides, and their 
families, will be staying in a series of State 
Government guest lodges in a government-reserved area 
known as Diamond Hill.  His mansion overlooks the 
Calabar River and has a view of the ocean.  More than 
60 family members and aides have already arrived in 
Calabar. 
 
 
3. (C)  Taylor and company are expected to stay in 
Calabar for approximately three months during which 
time his movements are to be extremely restricted.  A 
senior GON source has confirmed that Taylor will not 
be placed under house arrest, but will not be allowed 
to travel outside of Diamond Hill for the near future. 
Over the next three months, the GON plans to see if 
Taylor and his entourage behave themselves, and how 
Nigerians react to their presence.  Then they will 
determine whether to allow Taylor to expand his 
movements within Nigeria.  There is currently no 
restriction on the visitors that Taylor can receive. 
 
 
4. (C) A set of conditions for Taylor remaining in 
Nigeria are being determined.  It is anticipated that 
he and President Obasanjo will come to final agreement 
on these conditions by the end of the week.  A key 
condition will be total noninvolvement in Nigerian 
political issues, and more importantly a complete cut- 
off from Liberia's political affairs as well. 
 
 
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NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED 
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5. (C)  COMMENT:  Getting Taylor to agree and (most 
importantly) adhere to the conditions of good behavior 
will top Obasanjo's priority list.  Given the domestic 
opposition to his Liberia policy, Obasanjo cannot 
afford vintage bad behavior from Taylor.  Taylor will 
find it difficult to shy away from mischief.  Obasanjo 
still holds the hammer of deportation to Sierra Leone 
and that threat should restrain Taylor in the short to 
medium term. 
 
 
6. (C) The bucolic setting of Calabar will not charm 
Taylor for long and he will be itching to go somewhere 
else for a time.  Thus, Taylor's stay here must be 
monitored closely as it has the potential to become a 
problem.  But that lies in future.  For now, Obasanjo 
and others have pushed the Liberian peace process 
forward by removing the worst card in a bad deck from 
the game.  A high-level telephone call from Washington 
to Obasanjo commending this achievement might be in 
order.  For his part, Taylor has no love for Nigeria 
and cannot envision calling it his permanent home. 
Meanwhile, Nigeria is now host to three former 
Liberian leaders. End Comment. 
 
 
LIBERI