A retired Nigerian banker said on Saturday he is meeting with security officials because he fears his son may have been the man, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, who allegedly tried to set off an indenciary device on a U.S.-bound flight. The flight, Northwest Airlines Flight 253, was en router to Detroit, Michigan from Amsterdam.
However, the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab first boarded a flight in Lagos, Nigeria to Amsterdam. From there, he boarded Flight 253. He had a one way ticket to Detroit.
Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab has been on a list that includes people with known or suspected contact or ties to terrorists for at least two years. Known as the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, it is maintained by the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center and contains about 550,000 names. People on the list are not necessarily on the "no-fly list."
According to CNN, security experts are available in airports and maintain security on flights from other countries to the U.S., to the level of U.S. airports. By boarding first in Lagos, Nigeria, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab may have been able to bypass some of this.
A law enforcement official told NBC News that no air marshals were aboard the flight. According to the official, two passengers were being hailed as heroes. The first has been identified as Jasper Schuringa, who first jumped on the suspect and was hospitalized with burns. The second unidentified passenger put the suspect in a headlock.
Meanwhile, in Nigeria, retired bank executive Alhaji Umaru Mutallab told AP he had traveled from his home in the Muslim-dominated northern part of Nigeria. He went to meet officials in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, about his son.
Mutallab added that his son was a one-time university student in London who had left Britain to travel abroad. CNN is reporting today that British authorities are investigating his prior residence in what they called "a posh" area. Mutallab said his son hadn't lived in London "for some time." He wasn't however, sure where he had gone.
According to reports, the younger Mutallab said that he had obtained the device from Yemen. The elder Mutallab said he wasn't sure if they had traveled to Yemen, but they are looking into it.
Nigeria's This Day newspaper reported that family members said the elder Mutallab had been uncomfortable with his son's "extreme religious views." The paper added that the elder Mutallab had reported his son to the U.S. Embassy in the capital Abuja and to Nigerian security agencies as long as six months ago.
The White House called the incident an attempted act of terrorism. Federal officials said there would be heightened security for at airports across the country. However, they added that the increased security would likely be "layered," meaning it would differ from location to location depending on alerts, security concerns and other factors.
Meanwhile, CNN reported on Saturday that passengers had not seen any additional delays. One person was quoting as thinking there was less security. However, as travelers return from their Christmas holiday, there may be both increased security and increased wait times.
Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com
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