The terror suspect who tried to blow up a Detroit-bound plane is the son of a Nigerian banker who alerted U.S. authorities to his "extreme religious views" months ago, it was reported Saturday.
The father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, a former minister and chairman of First Bank in Nigeria, is shocked that his son was even was allowed to fly to the U.S., family members told the Nigerian newspaper This Day.
The dad was meeting with security officials to discuss his son, identified as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, 23.
The younger Mutallab was not on any no-fly list when he flew from Nigeria to Detroit through Amsterdam, Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.) told the Daily News.
When he tried to ignite powder strapped to his leg with a a chemical-filled syringe, he was tackled by a heroic passenger aboard Northwest Flight 253.
The passenger, Dutch video director Jasper Schuringa, told CNN he heard a big bang that sounded like a firecracker, then saw smoke and flames.
Schuringa said saw the man's pants were open and he was holding a burning object between his legs.
"I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away," Schuringa said.
Schuringa grabbed Mutallab and pulled him to the front of the plane.
"He was staring into nothing," Schuringa said.
Schuringa said he stripped off the man's clothes to check for other explosives and a crew member helped handcuff him. Passengers apparently applauded his efforts as he walked back to his seat.
"My hands are pretty burned. I am fine," Schuringa said. "I am shaken up."
Schuringa was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center Friday night.
The suspect boarded the Airbus 330 - carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew members - in Amsterdam after arriving on a flight from Lagos.
He told authorities he got the explosives in Yemen and received orders from Al Qaeda operatives to detonate the device on a plane over U.S. soil, officials said.
He is an engineering student at the University College in London. His last-known address near the school is a $4 million apartment in Central London. Police were searching there Saturday morning.
This Day reported that the suspect has been known for extremist religious views since high school at the British International School in Lome, Togo.
"At the secondary school, he was known for preaching about Islam to his schoolmates and he was popularly called 'Alfa,' a local coinage for Islamic scholar," This Day reported
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