- Liberian warlord Taylor vanished while in exile
- Bashir Tofa, Moshood Abiola secured presidential tickets
According to Terri Guillemets, no volume of history is insignificant, even the worst chapters especially the worst chapters.
History is without a doubt a compilation of both heroic and tragic tales. It brings back memories of past incidents and brings people closer to their past.
We must consciously record occurrences for educational reasons in order to offer more possibilities for assimilation and proper comprehension of happenings.
WITHIN NIGERIA has highlighted some five notable events that occurred on March 11 in the history of this nation, Nigeria in an effort to observe the rules of history and bring historical events to the doorsteps of our distinguished readers.
Liberian warlord Taylor vanished while in exile
On this day, 27th of March in 2006, former Liberian warlord, Charles Taylor slipped away just after Nigeria reluctantly agreed to transfer him to a war crimes tribunal.
According to the federal government, Taylor vanished Monday night from his villa in the southern city of Calabar, where he had lived in exile since being forced from power under a 2003 peace deal that ended Liberia’s civil war.
The announcement came three days after President Olusegun Obasanjo — under pressure from Washington and others — agreed to surrender Taylor to a U.N.-backed tribunal. He would be the first African leader to face trial for crimes against humanity.
“Right now we’re looking for answers from the Nigerian government about the whereabouts of Charles Taylor,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
He refused to speculate about whether somebody within the government was involved. “It is the responsibility of the Nigerian government to see that he is conveyed to the special court in Sierra Leone,” McClellan said. “We expect the government of Nigeria to fulfill this commitment.”
The U.S.-educated Taylor has been indicted by the tribunal on charges of committing crimes against humanity while in office by aiding and directing a rebel movement during Sierra Leone’s 1991-2001 civil war. He was accused of trading guns and gems with the insurgents, including child fighters, who terrorized victims by chopping off their arms, legs, ears and lips.
Bashir Tofa, Moshood Abiola secured presidential tickets
On this day, 27th of May in 1993, two major contenders in the 1993 presidential election namely Alhaji Bashir Tofa and Chief Moshood Abiola secured tickets of their respective party.
Alhaji Bashir Tofa, a businessmen secured the presidential ticket of National Republican Convention (NRC) while publisher of Concord Newspapers, Chief Moshood Abiola secured presidential ticket of Social Democratic Party (SDP).
