Good news Saturday

It's been a long hiatus for Good news Saturday, but it's back. Today's good news comes from Africa, specifically Nigeria.

It has been announced that the Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo (what a great name!) has agreed to hand over the former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, to the Liberian authorities. Taylor has been living in exile in Nigeria since he stood down as the leader of Liberia in 2003. He is wanted by the UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone to stand trial for crimes committed during the Liberian civil war, which began in 1987. Until now, the Nigerian president had refused to hand Taylor over. His change of tack today comes in response to a formal request from the newly elected Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

It it thought that the Liberian authorities will send Mr Taylor straight to Sierra Leone to stand trial, once they have him in custody.

Good news for justice, good news for human rights.

BBC News and Reuters have all the details.

Tags:
Africa; Liberia; human rights; Nigeria; good news