[JURIST] The UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) [official website] Sunday called on the Nigerian government to immediately detain former Liberian president and accused war criminal Charles Taylor [JURIST news archive] so that he does not disappear before being handed over to the Liberian government to be tried for crimes against humanity [indictment] by the Special Court. On Saturday, the Nigerian government agreed to transfer Taylor to Liberian custody [JURIST report] but did not specify how that would take place.

Current SCSL Chief Prosecutor Desmond de Silva [official profile, PDF] said in an official statement [PDF]:

The watching world will wish to see Taylor held in Nigerian detention to avoid the possibility of him using his wealth and associates to slip away, with grave consequences to the stability of the region.

De Silva has asked Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to have his authorities execute the warrant for the arrest of Taylor issued by the court. BBC News has more.