Nigeria, Dec. 26 (PTI): A prominent Nigerian banker today said he feared the terror suspect, who tried to blow up a Delta Airlines aircraft near Detroit, was his son.

Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, a former chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria, said that he had informed US officials about his son’s radical views a few months ago. Mutallab said he travelled from his home in northern Nigeria to Abuja, the capital, to meet officials as he feared that Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab was his son.

Abdulmutallab tried to set off an incendiary device aboard Flight 253 carrying 278 passengers from Amsterdam to Detroit.

Mutallab said his son left London to travel, even though he did not know where he was heading. “I believe he might have been to Yemen, but we are investigating to determine that,” Mutallab was quoted as saying by CBS news.

The local Nigerian daily This Day reported that Mutallab had informed US officials a few months ago about the radical views of his son. The father is shocked that his son was even allowed to fly to the US, family members told the daily. US officials say the young Nigerian national was not on a no-fly list, but was on some kind of watch list.

“According to the family members, Mutallab has been uncomfortable with the boy’s extreme religious views and had six months ago reported his activities to the US embassy, Abuja and Nigerian security agencies,” This Day said.

US visa

According to Dutch authorities, Abdulmutallab had flown from Nigeria with a valid US visa.

The office of the Netherlands anti-terrorism coordinator said: “Initial inquiries indicate that before the departure of the flight for the US, Northwest Airlines communicated the list of passengers in line with standard procedures to the American authorities with their personal data, including those of the suspect.”US authorities then gave clearance for th e flight to depart, it said.