A Bill seeking to empower the Senate to extradite foreigners granted asylum by Nigeria is now being considered by the upper chamber. When the Bill becomes law, the Senate will have powers to extradite persons on asylum to any requesting country to be tried for war crimes.
Exiled former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, may face extradition under the new bill, as America among others, has been advocating his extradition to the International War Crimes Tribunal.
If passed into law, the legislation will confer powers on the upper chamber to ratify or reject granting of asylum to a foreigner and order the extradition of a person already on asylum upon request by the United Nations, African Union or a third country.
Section 5 of the Bill says: “When a person has been granted asylum, he shall be released immediately to either the United Nations or the African Union or any of their agencies upon application in order to answer allegations of war crimes or related crimes or for such other purposes as may be stated or revealed in the application.
“Where it is a country that has applied for the release or extradition of an asylee, it must be considered wholly in conformity with the individual standing on international laws or treaty of extradition with Nigeria.
“In the event that there is no standing law or treaty of extradition with the individual country, the asylee shall be released to such country discretionally on a resolution of the Senate.
“An application by an individual country for the extradition of an asylee shall contain in details, amongst others, as may be required by the Senate, the following: (i) Details of the nature of offences and times of commission of offence (ii) Reasons for not trying the asylee for the offence before the application (iii) Satisfactory evidence of a possible fair trial or hearing in accordance with international standards.”
Also under the new legislation, no foreigner would be granted asylum for an indefinite period, as the initial maximum period to be granted is pegged at one year but subject to periodic review of six months with the approval of the upper chamber.
Section 2 of the Bill says: “No person shall be granted asylum without the consent of the Senate.” However, section 3 says a foreigner seeking asylum may be kept in protective custody pending a Senate resolution on the request. “Where the Senate refuses to ratify the granting of asylum, the person granted asylum shall be extradited within 24 hours upon such refusal.”
The Bill also slated conditions upon which the president could grant asylum to a foreigner, including “urgency of the occasion that warranted the grant of the application without consent” and “possible envisaged consequential damage to the nation or a friendly country.”
On the review of the initial period of the asylum, the Bill says “Where it is necessary to review and extend a current period of asylum, an application for such consent must be made and considered before the expiration of seven days to the previous tenure. Failure to apply for a review within the stipulated time frame, the asylee shall be extradited on the last day of the current tenure.”
The Nigerian legislature is considering a Bill that would permit the Senate to extradite persons granted asylum by Nigeria to other nations and organizations, such as the United Nations and the African Union, to face trial for war crimes.  Under the law, the Senate would have the power to accept or decline applications for asylum as well as remit persons already with asylum to requesting organizations or countries.

If the Bill passes, it would provide the mechanism needed by Nigeria to lawfully extradite indicted war criminal Charles Taylor to stand trial at the Special Court in Sierra Leone.  To date, Nigeria has resisted repeated claims by Sierra Leone, the United States, and the United Nations to extradite Mr. Taylor saying that they will only do so if called upon by a freely elected Liberian government.  Liberia has its first national elections since Taylor's regime scheduled for October.

The Bill has significant implications in Liberia, where Taylor was President until ousted by the international community in August 2003, under an asylum deal with Nigeria.  The United Nations has maintained a peacekeeping mission in the country ever since.  In October, Liberia faces its first national elections since Taylor, and his influence, although against the terms of his asylum, is seen as potentially destabilizing.

The front runners in Liberia's presidential race recently spoke on the Taylor issue at a series of presidential debates held on local radio.  Although most candidates agree that the rule of law must be followed none would commit to handing Taylor over to the Special Court if elected.