Father alerted U.S. about Nigerian plane bomb suspect

The father of a Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a transatlantic jet on Christmas Day had voiced concerns to U.S. officials about his son. The father, a top Nigerian banker, warned U.S. authorities last month about 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's extreme views, say officials. Father alerted U.S. about Nigerian plane bomb suspect U.S. sources confirm a file was opened, but say the information did not warrant placing the accused on a "no-fly" list. Airports worldwide have increased security after the alleged attack. Abdulmutallab was formally charged by a U.S. federal judge at a Michigan hospital where he is being treated for burns after allegedly trying to detonate a device. The detainee reportedly smiled as agents brought him in to the room in a wheelchair, dressed in a green hospital robe and with a blanket over his lap. High explosives are believed to have been moulded to his body and sewn in to his underpants. He was immediately overpowered by passengers and crew aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253, minutes before it was due to land in Detroit from the Dutch capital Amsterdam. The suspect was charged with placing a destructive device on the Airbus 330, which was carrying 289 passengers and crew, and attempting to destroy the jet. His father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, is a prominent banker well-connected in Nigeria's political world, the BBC's Caroline Duffield reports from Lagos. In recent months Mutallab is said to have become alarmed about the political views of his son, who is a former engineering student at University College London. He approached the U.S. embassy in Abuja in November to voice concerns about his son, according to American officials. How the accused, who had a valid U.S. travel visa, boarded a flight in Lagos to Amsterdam, despite being on a database listing individuals of concern to the authorities, is a key question, our correspondent says. Anti-terrorist measures in Nigeria's airports are haphazard and corruption among police, customs and security officials is endemic, she adds. Officials in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, told news agencies that Abdulmutallab's name had been added to a security watch-list of more than half a million individuals, known as Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (Tide). But there was apparently not enough information to include his name on the smaller Terrorist Screening Data Base, which includes a no-fly list. It is understood that members of Abdulmutallab's family are travelling to the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday to meet police and government officials.

Father alerted U.S. about Nigerian plane bomb suspect

U.S. sources confirm a file was opened, but say the information did not warrant placing the accused on a "no-fly" list.

Airports worldwide have increased security after the alleged attack.

Abdulmutallab was formally charged by a U.S. federal judge at a Michigan hospital where he is being treated for burns after allegedly trying to detonate a device.

The detainee reportedly smiled as agents brought him in to the room in a wheelchair, dressed in a green hospital robe and with a blanket over his lap.

High explosives are believed to have been moulded to his body and sewn in to his underpants.

He was immediately overpowered by passengers and crew aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253, minutes before it was due to land in Detroit from the Dutch capital Amsterdam.

The suspect was charged with placing a destructive device on the Airbus 330, which was carrying 289 passengers and crew, and attempting to destroy the jet.

His father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, is a prominent banker well-connected in Nigeria's political world, the BBC's Caroline Duffield reports from Lagos.

In recent months Mutallab is said to have become alarmed about the political views of his son, who is a former engineering student at University College London.

He approached the U.S. embassy in Abuja in November to voice concerns about his son, according to American officials.

How the accused, who had a valid U.S. travel visa, boarded a flight in Lagos to Amsterdam, despite being on a database listing individuals of concern to the authorities, is a key question, our correspondent says.

Anti-terrorist measures in Nigeria's airports are haphazard and corruption among police, customs and security officials is endemic, she adds.

Officials in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, told news agencies that Abdulmutallab's name had been added to a security watch-list of more than half a million individuals, known as Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (Tide).

But there was apparently not enough information to include his name on the smaller Terrorist Screening Data Base, which includes a no-fly list.

It is understood that members of Abdulmutallab's family are travelling to the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday to meet police and government officials.