MONROVIA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Liberian government is expecting a UN Security Council resolution to send exiled former president Charles Taylor directly to the UN-backed special court in Sierra Leone after Nigeria agreed to terminate his asylum.

    In a statement over the weekend, the Liberian government also said it will "cooperate with the original partners of the August 2003 arrangement in determining the mechanism that will bring this matter of former president Taylor to closure."

    In August 2003, a west African states-brokered peace deal was reached amongst Liberian warring factions to end 14 years of civil war in the country. Taylor's temporary exile to Nigeria was part of the peace deal which put in place a two-year transitional government until 2005.

    But by then, Taylor had been indicted on 17 counts by the special court in Sierra Leone, for crimes against humanity and war crimes for fueling the civil war there, when he allegedly supported rebels against the Sierra Leonean government in return for "bloody diamonds."

    There had been an increased in pressure from the international community, especially from the U.S. government, for the newly democratically elected government of Liberia and Nigeria to have Taylor handed over for prosecution.

    Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo had on Saturday sent a special message to his Liberian counterpart Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf that "Liberia is free to take former president Charles Taylor into its custody."

    This decision, according to the message, was based on consultations with other African leaders, after Obasanjo received a formal request from Johns-Sirleaf on March 5.

    Notwithstanding, the Liberian government pointed out that "Taylor has not been indicted in any Liberian court and is therefore not subject to extradition to Liberia," implying a UN Security Council's Resolution could indicate that Taylor be taken directly to Sierra Leone from Nigeria.

    Public reaction to Taylor's extradition has been mixed. Many persons want him face the war crimes court in Sierra Leone while some, mostly those considered his loyalists are opposing his handover to the court on grounds that he may not get a fair hearing.

    There have also been suspicion threats that his loyalists couldcause trouble in Liberia should he be handed over to the court. Some of individuals believed to be his loyalists were picked recently for questioning, but security personnel in Monrovia, capital of Liberia, have reportedly been tight-lipped on the issue. Enditem