I am really disturbed, says suspect’s father
A renowned Nigerian banker, Umaru Mutallab, on Saturday confirmed to the AFP that the man arrested over a botched attempt to blow up a US airliner on a flight from Amsterdan to Detroit is his son.
“I have been receiving telephone calls from all over the world about my child who has been arrested for an alleged attempt to bomb a plane,” the elder Mr. Mutallab told the agency on his way to Abuja where he had been summoned by security agents.
“I am really disturbed. I would not want to say anything at the moment until I put myself together. I will address a press conference on the issue on Monday. I have been summoned by the Nigerian security and I am on my way to Abuja to answer the call,” he said.
He added that he had just left his town of Funtua in northern Katsina State for the Nigerian capital.
Nigeria, on Saturday, ordered a top-level probe into the incident, a government statement said.
Mutallab’s biography
Umaru Mutallab, born December 15, 1939 in Katsina Town, Katsina State, Nigeria, is a Fellow of both the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants (FCCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA).
Mr. Mutallab is a former Federal Commissioner of Economic Development (1975) and also of Cooperation and Supply (1976). He played a major role in introducing Islamic banking into Nigeria.
A versatile professional and businessman, he was the executive chairman and managing director of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and recently retired as chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Plc.