LAGOS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian police have confirmed to Xinhua on Wednesday that former Liberian president Charles Taylor has been detained.

    Former Liberian leader Charles Taylor, wanted for war crimes by a UN-backed court, has "disappeared" from his residence in Nigeria which terminated his asylum three days ago, the Nigerian government said on Tuesday.

    "President Olusegun Obasanjo has approved the constitution of a panel of inquiry to look into the circumstances of the disappearance on Monday night ... to ascertain whether he escaped or was abducted," it said in a statement.

    The official News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday quoted one of Taylor's daughters, Desirer, as saying that she was with her father "this morning." One of his male relations, however, confirmed that Taylor had gone into hiding, the report said. It also quoted residents of Calabar that they sighted him at a supermarket in the city on Monday. Enditem