Taylor's Nigerian gilded cage

Former Liberian president and war crimes suspect Charles Taylor has gone missing from the villa in Calabar, south-eastern Nigeria, where he has been in exile since 2003. The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt says it is hard to believe he could have escaped without some degree of complicity on the part of the Nigerian authorities.

Charles Taylor has a sea-view, just like in Monrovia

Calabar was an inspired choice for Charles Taylor's home in exile.

No-one could suggest the former warlord was not being well-treated - Calabar is one of the nicest of Nigeria's state capitals, and the lush climate and seaside setting are reminiscent enough of Liberia to make Mr Taylor and his entourage feel at home.

He has been living in a large and comfortable villa on the city's prestigious Diamond Hill, in the reserved government area since he went into exile in 2003 as part of a deal to end a 14-year civil war in his country.

But it was a gilded cage.

He was in a guarded area within the city, and Calabar itself is on a peninsula, so it is easy to control the road routes out of town.

His family and associates came and went freely in Calabar but Mr Taylor himself went out seldom, and then only with a Nigerian security escort.

Charles Taylor is facing 17 counts of war crimes

Although he could freely receive visitors he was not allowed to speak to the press.

Journalists who visited his home last week were able to see and greet the former president, but not to interview him.

It is just about possible to imagine someone making a getaway from Mr Taylor's villa by sea and slipping over the border into Cameroon, but in reality Mr Taylor was as tightly controlled as if he were already under arrest.