U S says Nigeria must answer on missing Taylor

WASHINGTON, Mar 29 (Reuters) Nigeria faces ''consequences'' for the disappearance of exiled former Liberian leader Charles Taylor if he is not handed over to stand trial on war crimes charges, the United States said today.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan would not say whether President George W. Bush would still meet with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as scheduled on Wednesday.

''Right now we are looking for answers from the Nigerian government about the whereabouts of Charles Taylor,'' McClellan said.

Nigeria, which has been pressed by Washington to end Taylor's asylum there, said during the weekend that Liberia was free to take the former warlord into custody.

But on Tuesday, just as Obasanjo was scheduled to leave Abuja for Washington, Nigerian officials said Taylor had disappeared from his residence in the southeastern part of the country on Monday night.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was Nigeria's responsibility to hand over Taylor for prosecution, warning of ''consequences'' if it did not happen.

''We consider it a very serious matter, senator, if he has indeed escaped, very serious,'' Rice told Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Leahy pushed Rice to cancel Obasanjo's meeting with Bush, a request Rice did not address.

Rice stressed Obasanjo had promised to closely monitor Taylor and turn him over once a new Liberian government was in place.

''If we are no longer on course for that then we will have to examine why this happened and have consequences accordingly,'' said Rice, without specifying what the consequences would be.

Taylor had lived in Nigeria since 2003 when he stepped down as president and after Obasanjo helped broker a peace deal to end Liberia's 14-year civil war that spilled over into nearby countries.

Taylor is wanted on war crimes charges by a special U.N.-backed court in Sierra Leone.

''It is the responsibility of the Nigerian government to see that he is conveyed to the special court for Sierra Leone,'' McClellan said. ''We expect the government of Nigeria to fulfill this commitment.'' Sen. Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat, said Bush should cancel his Obasanjo meeting to send a message that ''the United States stands unequivocally for bringing Charles Taylor to justice.'' ''The inability of the government of Nigeria to provide adequate security around the residence of Charles Taylor, one of the world's worst war criminals, is inexcusable,'' Obama said.

Republican Rep. Ed Royce of California, a member of the House of Representatives International Relations Committee, said countries should not consider giving Taylor sanctuary.

''Such action will be met with stiff opposition in the U.S.

Congress -- including serious sanctions,'' he said.

Rep. Chris Smith, the New Jersey Republican who chairs a House subcommittee on Africa, said the United States ''must review our relationship with Nigeria in light of Taylor's escape and should immediately authorize a substantial financial bounty'' to help ensure his capture.

Taylor is accused in Sierra Leone of supporting rebels notorious for hacking off the limbs of civilians, in exchange for diamonds to finance the Liberian conflict.

The two conflicts claimed an estimated 300,000 lives and spawned a generation of child soldiers.

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