Nigerians woke up to the shocking news on Christmas day, December 25, that citizen Umar Farouk Abdul Muttalab, the son of one of Nigeria's top bankers, tried to blow up a trans-atlantic Northwest Airlines plane as it prepared to land in Detroit, in the United States of America. The White House has called the attack "an attempted act of terrorism." Reports reveal that Flight 253 had originated in Nigeria and flown through Amsterdam to Detroit. Mr. Muttalab was in seat number 16A alongside 277 passengers and 11 crew members aboard, with the plane less than 30 minutes away from the airport, when he used a syringe full of chemicals to ignite some powder taped to his leg. But doing so "caused him to catch fire," said Richelle Keepman, who sat a few rows in front of Mr. Mutallab. As other passengers panicked, Jasper Schuringa, from Amsterdam, told the CNN that he heard a sound similar to a "firecracker in a pillow" and then noticed a burning object between Mr. Mutallab's legs. "I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away," Mr. Schuringa said. Mr. Mutallab was then stripped of his clothes to make sure he didn't have any more explosives on him and then he was restrained with his own shirt and, later, a pair of handcuffs. Elizabeth Isham Cory, a spokesperson for the US federal aviation administration, disclosed that crew members requested law enforcement officers to meet the flight, which landed at 6:51 am Nigerian time, at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. Mr. Muttalab was immediately taken into custody for questioning. Reports state that he suffered second-degree burns to the legs. Fellow passengers also reveal he was handcuffed to a stretcher, and told international media organisations that, though he "was burned very severely on his leg", Mr. Muttalab remained "very calm and didn't show any reaction to pain." Mr. Schuringa, now called the "hero of Flight 253", described Mr. Mutallab as "staring into nothing" following his unsuccessful attempt. Strange fellow United States federal documents disclosed that, according to his visa records, Mr. Mutallab was an engineering student at the University College, London (UCL) and was flying from Nigeria to the United States for a religious seminar. The university has however been quick to distance itself from the attempted bombing. The BBC reports that a spokesperson for UCL said a student called Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was enrolled in a mechanical engineering course between September 2005 and June 2008. It added: "It must be stressed that the university has no evidence that this is the same person currently being referred to in the media." Mr. Muttalab is 23 years old and the son of the former chairman of First Bank of Nigeria, Umaru Abdul Mutallab, who is now chairman of Jaiz International Plc, an Islamic bank. The family owns homes in London, Ghana and Nigeria, with the now-alleged bomber living in a basement flat in a mansion block near Harley Street in Central London. Flats in the upscale building, located on Mansfield Street, sell for between £1.5m and £2.5m and residents are now asking how a student could afford to live in such an exclusive location, according to the BBC. Mr. Mutallab cuts the picture of the average young man. His Facebook profile picture shows the slim-built Mr. Muttalab wearing a pink shirt from which sunglasses hang, smiling with two friends. However, his relationship with his family has always been anything but average. According to a family friend who spoke to NEXT under conditions of anonymity, Mr. Muttalab had attended his father's 70th birthday in Kano and requested that his family "never try to get in touch with him again." Also, Mr. Muttalab's banker father is reported to have made a formal report of his extreme political and religious views to the American immigration authorities before this incident. A preliminary review by US authorities confirmed this; Mr. Mutallab's name appears to be included in the government's records of terrorism suspects. ‘Incendiary, not explosive' Mr. Mutallab has told investigators that he had ties with the notorious terrorist organisation called al-Qaeda and that he had travelled to the Arab nation of Yemen to collect the device and instructions on how to detonate it. "The subject is claiming to have extremist affiliation and that the device was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used," a bulletin issued by the US government stated. Speaking earlier in the day, Mr. Mutallab said of his son; "I believe he might have been to Yemen, but we are investigating to determine that." On its part, the US has said it will conduct more interviews and investigate further before it can believe the suspect's claims. The New York Times reports that officials have expressed reserve about Mr. Muttalab's claims, saying "it may have been aspirational." "Officials described the device as incendiary rather than explosive, pending tests by forensics experts at the FBI. Incendiary devices generally deliver less of an impact than explosive devices," the Washington Post also said. Police sources also cited Mr. Muttalab's burns as second-degree, likely to be associated with smaller explosive devices. US officials have said they are not prepared to raise the terrorism alert level for domestic and international air travel. But the country's Homeland Security Department said passengers "may notice additional screening measures, put into place to ensure the safety of the traveling public on domestic and international flights." Questions raised Security measures at the two airports (in Amsterdam and Nigeria), which Flight 253 passed through, have come under criticsm, following the attack. Mr. Abdul, a passenger who flew alongside Mr. Muttalab, described airport security at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos as lax. "All the officials in Lagos were bothered about was their Christmas gifts. Anyone could have passed through with anything, " Mr. Abdul said last night. "The biggest problem are the breaches of security. He is on some sort of watch list and yet he boarded the aircraft. Passengers are screened and yet he boarded the plane with some sort of explosive device, " wrote the Daily Mail. US Senator John Rockefeller has announced that the commerce, science & transportation committee, which he chairs, would "hold hearings in January to look in to this incident and related security matters." Governments react The White House has termed the incident as an "attempted act of terrorism" while US national security agencies call it an "attempt to blow up the plane". Barack Obama, president of the United States, was reportedly notified of the incident immediately by military aides in Hawaii, where he is on vacation, according to White House spokesman Bill Burton. Mr. Obama reportedly went into a meeting via conference call with John Brennan, his Homeland Security and Counter-terrorism adviser, and Denis McDonough, acting chief of staff for the National Security Council. In Nigeria, citizens woke up to the news courtesy of foreign media and social networking websites. Around 12pm Nigerian time, Dora Akunyili, the minister for information and communication, issued a statement, which read in part: "The vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has directed Nigerian security agencies to commence full investigation of the incident. Our security agencies will cooperate fully with the American authorities in the on-going investigations." Source: 234next.com