Father of Nigerian terror suspect in Flight bomb attack, warned U.S.

I love Naija, is good to have this kind of news on headline around the world, so that people should know that we nor dey carry last, well i just which the dude did it for money, not just 27 virgin. Naija 4 life.

(CNN) -- The father of a man suspected of trying to bring down a Northwest Airlines jet recently contacted the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria about concerns that his son had "become radicalized" and could be planning something, a family source told CNN Saturday.

The son, 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was charged in a federal criminal complaint Saturday with attempting to destroy the plane Friday on its final approach to Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Michigan, and with placing a destructive device on the aircraft, the Department of Justice said.

A preliminary FBI analysis found that the device contained PETN, also known as pentaerythritol, a high explosive. In addition, FBI agents recovered what appear to be the remnants of the syringe from the vicinity of Abdulmutallab's seat, believed to have been part of the device.

Abdulmutallab was to make an initial court appearance at a hospital later Saturday. Read the federal criminal complaint and affidavit

The father, Alhaji Umar Mutallab, recently retired as chairman of First Bank PLC in Nigeria, one of the nation's premier banks. He contacted the U.S. Embassy about his fears, said the source, who lives at the family home in Kaduna in northern Nigeria.

About three months ago, the family source said, the father contacted various security agencies and the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, the capital, about a text message he had received from his son the day before.

The son informed his family that he was leaving school in Dubai, where he had gone to get a second degree, to move to Yemen. He implied that he was leaving "for the course of Islam."

The family member said the son "had no family consent or support." He "absconded to Yemen."

"His mother has not been sleeping for months. She is on medication to sleep," the source said.

His information about the son was forwarded to the National Counter-Terrorism Center, and the son was added to a general watch list, a data base of suspected terrorists. But the official said "the info on him was not deemed specific enough to pull his visa or put him on a no-fly list."

Abdulmutallab suffered severe burns Friday when he ignited a small explosive device aboard the plane, and was hospitalized at the University of Michigan burn trauma center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

His apparent plans were foiled by crew members and passengers, and he was taken into custody for questioning by the FBI, authorities said.

The family source said Abdulmutallab received a college degree at the University College of London, where spokesman Dave Weston said a man named Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab was enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering Department between September 2005 and June 2008.

His last-known London address was a basement apartment in a wealthy neighborhood. On Saturday, counterterrorism police officers police went in and out of an ornate building on Mansfield Street where Abdulmutallab apparently lived.

Abdulmutallab was granted a multiple-year, multiple-entry tourist visa at the U.S. Embassy in London in June 2008, a senior U.S. administration official familiar with the case told CNN on Saturday.

At the time, there was "no derogatory information that would have prevented him from getting a visa," said the official.

When Abdulmuttalab returned to Nigeria from London, he told his family he wanted to get a second college degree in Cairo or Saudi Arabia, the family source said. The family refused, because they were worried that he may have developed ties to some dubious people. He went to Dubai, instead, the source said.

Abdulmuttalab sent his family a text message saying he had gone to Yemen to start a new life, and that it would be difficult for anyone to reach him because he had thrown his SIM card away, according to the source.

Abdulmuttalab's father notified the U.S. Embassy with information on his son, saying the family feared he went to Yemen to participate in "some kind of jihad."

The family, the source said, in no way supports Abdulmuttalab's actions. The father was talking to government officials Saturday, the source added.

Earlier Saturday, the Netherlands' national coordinator for counterterrorism told CNN that Abdulmuttalab had gone through "normal security procedures" in Amsterdam before boarding the flight to Detroit, and those were "well-performed."

The initial impression is that the suspect was acting alone and did not have any formal connections to organized terrorist groups, said the senior U.S. administration official, who is familiar with the investigation.

The remains of the device were sent to an FBI explosives lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis, security sources said.

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, said the attempted act of terrorism would be the focus of an oversight hearing next month.

"The committee will get to the bottom of what did and did not happen with Mr. Abdulmutallab and what security precautions need to take place in the future," Thompson said.

The official said there was no evidence that Abdulmutallab was a hard-core, trained member of al Qaeda.

Abdulmutallab, however, claimed to have extremist ties and said the explosive device "was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used," a federal security bulletin obtained by CNN said.

An official with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration told CNN there will be increased security measures taken on international flights to the United States. The official advised travelers to allow for extra time before the flight. There will be no change in the number of carry-on bags allowed.

"The security of the public must always be our primary concern," said a statement Saturday from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The statement was read over the phone by a spokesman at 10 Downing Street.

Britain's home secretary said Saturday that the case "represents a potentially serious security threat."

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said he is following developments closely and has assured the public that police in Britain are working closely with U.S. investigators "to uncover the full background to the incident."

Read more about the investigation in the U.K.

In Nigeria, the government on Saturday said it "received with dismay the news of attempted terrorist attack on a U.S. airline" and has ordered its security agencies to investigate the incident.

"While steps are being taken to verify the identity of the alleged suspect and his motives, our security agencies will cooperate fully with the American authorities in the on-going investigations," Professor Dora Akunyili, Nigeria's minister of information and communications.

"We state very clearly that as a nation, we abhor all forms of terrorism."

Passengers described the brief moments of panic on board.

Syed Jafry, who was sitting in seat 16G, said the plane was just beginning to descend when passengers heard a pop.

"Everybody got a little bit startled," he said. "After a few seconds or so ... there was ... kind of a flamish light and there was fire" and people around the immediate area began to panic.

Jafry said the incident was under control within minutes, crediting the crew and nearby passengers for the rapid response. See passengers' accounts

Another passenger described the experience this way.

"What we heard in the beginning was a bang. Sounded first like a balloon being popped, and then a minute later there was a lady shouting back and she was saying things like, 'what are you doing, what are you doing' "?

"We heard a loud pop, then a bit of a smoke and then some flames, then yelling and screaming. From what we could tell, there was a gentleman that had some sort of device on him that caused him to catch on fire.

"All of a sudden ... flight attendants ran up and down the aisles. I think we knew at the point, when we saw the fear in the flight attendants' eyes, and they grabbed the fire extinguisher and we smelled a bunch of smoke."

No other suspicious materials were found on the plane or in luggage, the law enforcement and airline security sources said. The suspect had only carry-on luggage. The plane, an Airbus 330, was carrying 278 passengers. Delta is the parent company of Northwest.