The Nigerian man being held by US authorities for an alleged attempted terrorist attack on a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit has been identified by his father in Nigeria, media reports said Saturday, dpa reported.
Dutch, US and Nigerian media reported that former government minister and bank official Alhaji Umaru Mutallab confirmed to security authorities in the Nigerian capital Abuja that the 23-year- old suspect was his son, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab.
The ANP news agency in the Netherlands reported that Mutallab had informed US authorities his son had studied in London but left Britain to travel. Although he did not know where his son planned to go, the banker from northern Nigeria said believed his son had been to Yemen, he said.
The suspect was travelling from Lagos in Nigeria to Detroit via Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.
He is alleged to have tried to set off an explosive device onboard Northwest Airlines flight 253 shortly before it landed in Detroit on Friday. He was overpowered by passengers and crew of the airliner carrying 278 passengers.
Nigerian Information Minister Dora Akunyili on Saturday said the government was conducting its own investigation to verify the suspect's identity.
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