Nigerian Arrested for Attempting to Bomb Plane

[maxsiollun]

http://maxsiollun.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/nigerian-arrested-for-attempting-to-detonate-explosives-inside-northwest-airlines-plane/

Very tragic news. I am glad no lives were lost. But the "loser" here is the Nigerian nation because Nigerian citizens will now be subject to even greater profiling and security checks. You can now add terrorism to the list of negative foreign stereotypes of Nigerians alongside, 419, forgery and drug trafficking.

The fact that Nigeria has a 50% Muslim population will now bring unwelcome attention from the US and the unsophisticated news reporting outlets over there like Fox.

[maxsiollun]

http://www.saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4631:northwest-flight-253-leg-bomber-is-son-of-drumaru-abdul-muttalab-former-first-bank-chairman-from-yaraduas-home-state-katsina&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18

Saharareporters has identified the family of Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab in Nigeria. The 23 year old would-be bomber of Northwest airline flight 253 is the son of recently retired chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Dr. Umaru Abdul Mutallab.

The father of the bomber, Dr. Muttalab was born in 1939 in Katsina township, the home state of Nigeria's sickly leader Umaru Musa Yar'adua.

Dr. Muttallab is currently the chairman of Nigeria first Islamic bank, Jaiz International Plc. He sits on the board of the bank with Dr. Rilwan Lukman, the Nigerian minister of Petroleum resources.
The Al-Qaida linked son, Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, is an engineering student at University College London.

[maxsiollun]

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=162769

    • Father reported him to US Authorities long few months ago
    By Yusuph Olaniyonu, 12.26.2009

The older Mutallab, who as at the time of filing this report, had just left his Katsina hometown for Abuja for the purpose of speaking with security agencies, was said to have noticed the extreme nature of the boy's religious belief and has taken several measures to tame him.

In fact, the former bank chairman, a close source told THISDAY, had a few months ago reported the boy's activities to United States' authorities and Nigerian security agencies.

The older Mutallab was said to be devastated on hearing the news of abdullFarouk's arrest. A source close to him said he was surprised that after his reports to the US authorities, the young man was still issued a visa to enter the United States.

The suspect, Abdulfarouk Muttalab who is an engineering student at the University College, London had been noted for his extreme views on religion since his secondary school days at the British International School, Lome, Togo.

At the secondary school, he was known for preaching about Islam to his school mates and he was popularly called Alfa, a local coinage for Islamic scholar. After his secondary school, the young man, family sources said, once relocated to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from where he declared to his family members that he did not want to have anything to do with any of them again.

His father, Muttalab is a prominent Nigerian who is a regular visitor to the US where he visits for medical check up and holiday. He is expected to issue a statement later today. Muttalab is married to an Arab of Yemeni-descent. However, THISDAY could not confirm at the time of filing this report if the woman is the mother of the young man now receiving treatment in Ann Harbor Hospital, Detroit, for burns suffered while he was trying to detonate the explosive device in the plane.

Meanwhile, the federal government of Nigeria yesterday issued a press statement on the incident. The statement signed by Prof. Dora Akunyili, minister of information and communications, reads: " Federal Government of Nigeria received with dismay the news of an attempted terrorist attack on a US airline. We state very clearly that as a nation, we abhor all forms of terrorism.The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has directed Nigerian security agencies to commence full investigation of 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. Nigerian government will be providing updates as more information becomes available."

[gogannaka]

This is a very very interesting article.
Please be patient enough to read to the end.


By Dele Sobowale

I started reading Nigerian newspapers in 1953 —mostly those absolutely
delightful cartoon/advertiseme nts by Nigerian Breweries featuring Sammy
Sparkle. Who in our generation can forget that mischievous character who
popped up almost every where to stop a train; to stop a fight, etc, and
the punch line —"I did says Sammy Sparkle; its time for STAR".

I was also a good listener; in fact the best listener when my father, a
Yoruba man who would gladly lay his life on the line for "Zik of
Africa" and my eldest brother, who was a die-hard Awoist engaged
themselves in arguments over their heroes. Between father, who religiously
read the West African Pilot published by Zik and my brother, who devoured
the Tribune, published by Awolowo, I got to know most of the important
news of each day.

Never in those 56 years has the media in Nigeria and respected opinion
leaders made such individual and collective fools of themselves as they
have done since the news of  Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempt to commit
suicide was first announced by the American owned CNN network on Christmas
day.

Notice the words "attempt to commit suicide" because that is what most
of our commentators missed. The CBN, naturally, had gone to considerable
length to portray Farouk as a terrorist because an American aircraft was
involved and the attempt occurred as the plane was about to land in
Detroit — one of America's largest cities. It was understandable that
the news network would take the politically "correct" position in
their broadcasts with regard to this incident.

But, it was poor journalism. Worse than that; it was pure propaganda —as
this article would show..

Media executioners

While CNN's position was understandable, the response of the Nigerian
media, opinion leaders, the Federal Government and even Farouk's father
was at first puzzling and finally enraging. CNN labeled Farouk a
"terrorist" and every damn fool in Nigeria who had access to a page of
newspaper or a few minutes on the air in electronic media, was gullible
enough to accept that label without question and a barrage of the most
prejudicial statements and commentaries followed.

Editors, who should be more discerning, were all on holidays and they
allowed their papers to be used in the most despicable manner — to
defame Farouk; to pronounce him guilty — even before pleas are taken and
to have handed the poor misguided boy to American executioners. Well, I
have a name for my media colleagues, from CNN to Nigerian columnists —
on this matter.
As far as I am concerned they are all a bunch of media executioners. They
have not even bothered with the first golden rule of journalism and law
—let the other party be heard. None of our engaging and erudite
columnists has spoken to Farouk; and failing that none had put on their
thinking caps to ask themselves if Farouk's right — namely the right
to be presumed innocent of the charges — were being violated.
When Mark Twain, 1835-1910, wrote in Innocents at Home, "Are you going
to hang him anyhow — and try him afterward?", he must have had in mind
a situation such as this.
And it was not only Farouk who was thoughtlessly slaughtered in the
collective race to hand the poor boy to American executioners. His
parents, the Federal Government and even the re-branding effort of the
Yar'Adua's administration and the Nigerian nation were all taken to
the media abattoir and butchered.
But was Farouk guilty of terrorism? Was his father wrong to have sent his
son abroad for his education? Should the unfortunate incident be a reason
to jettison the re-branding effort? And should Nigeria and Nigerians feel
embarrassed and hide their heads in shame? The answer to all the
questions, surprisingly, is a resounding NO!
Permit me to start in reverse order to point out how Nigerians have
allowed themselves to be fooled by US propaganda and the thoughtlessness
of our public opinion molders.
Virtually every day bombs go off in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq,
killing several hundred more people than were on the Delta Airline plane
that Farouk was accused of attempting to blow off. Neither the governments
nor the people in those countries feel ashamed or embarrassed. Why?
Because they, and the entire world, realise that those carrying out these
activities are in the tiniest minority.. The vast majority of the people
just want to live a peaceful life —if they can.
By the same token, 90% or more of Nigerians have never boarded an aircraft
—and probably never will. An even larger majority — close to 99.99999%
know nothing about explosives; they neither know how they are made and how
they are used.
So in what way does Farouk represent them and as a result they should feel
ashamed. In fact, Farouk is a product of the foreign countries —
including Britain and America, now making the most deafening noise about a
Nigerian "terrorist" when there is none. So Nigeria and my fellow
countrymen and women have nothing to be ashamed of on this matter which
the Western media and their Nigerian collaborators have blown out of
proportion — as you will soon see.
Those carpeting the father for sending his son abroad for education are
simply envious. There is probably no Nigerian today blessed with Alhaji
Mutallab's money who will not ship his children to school abroad. And,
if a university in London harbours subversive elements hell-bent on
preying on poor misguided souls, the fault is not Alhaji Mutallab's own;
nor Nigeria's. The fault is with the British government which had failed
to curb such activities on its campuses.
Alhaji Mutallab, as a matter of fact, deserves a pat on the back for not
engaging in cover-up. Few fathers will report their sons to the CIA or
British security forces. Alhaji made only one cardinal error —which is,
jeopardising his son's right to strong defence when the case comes up.
He should not have released the statement that he did because it can be
misconstrued as admission that his son is guilty as charged by the media
executioners —at home or abroad. Later in this article, Alhaji and
Nigerians will be shown the way forward.
But, let me announce the destination of this journey — Nigerians should
collectively put up a fight to save Farouk's life. And the reasons are
not hard to discover.
First, America never releases its citizens for prosecution in another
country. So contemptuous are they of the quality of other nation's
judiciary that they don't even believe an American can receive fair
trial even in Western countries.
Secondly, Britain has provided the example of what a country should do
when its citizen is on trial in other lands. As the Farouk story was
playing on SKY NEWS, another story was on the air. A Briton had been
sentenced to death in China for smuggling hard drugs into that country.
The British government and the man's family proceeded to mount a
campaign to free the man. He was pronounced mentally unstable — yet
nobody presented a doctor's report to substantiate the claim. The
Chinese were made to feel like brutes despite the fact the more people are
killed and more lives are destroyed by drug trafficking than all the
homicides arising from "terrorism".
The message was clear; Britain wanted its citizen's life to be spared
irrespective of the fact that the judgment was based on convincing proof
and guilt was beyond reasonable doubt. By contrast Farouk was being cut
and quartered at home and abroad by people who have not even heard the
evidence.
Who's a terrorist?
Now we come to the main issue —was Farouk guilty of terrorism? Was he a
terrorist? And do all the facts at our disposal point to terrorism? Few of
us are experts on the subject and even the experts don't always agree.
But, every one is familiar with the saying that, "one man's terrorist
is another's freedom fighter".
Every time a bazooka lands in Israel from the West Bank, the Israelis call
it a terrorist attack; the Palestinians call it a blow for liberation of
Palestine from the illegal occupants. When Israel, in response to the
bazooka which killed one person, sends bombers and tanks into Lebanon and
reduce the city to rubbles — including children's hospital — the
West calls it retaliation; Arabs call it genocide.
Who's right? It all depends on who you are. There is absolutely no
reason why Nigerians should swallow — hook, line and sinker — the
West's characterisation of an event as "terrorist" any more than we
can expect them to accept it as "liberation effort".
At any rate, if America can recruit Britain, Australia and other nations
to fight its war in Afghanistan or Iraq, and those soldiers are not called
"terrorists" regardless of how many Arabs they massacre, what stops
the Arabs from seeking help wherever they can find it?
This is not an admission that Farouk was a recruit for al-Queda despite US
propaganda. It is to point out to everyone that there is a war on in the
Middle East started on the basis of a lie told by US President Bush and
British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, about weapons of mass destruction,
WMD, in Iraq. I recollect writing in my SUNDAY VANGUARD column before the
war started that "Bush and Blair would invade Iraq even if there is no
single pen knife in the country".
Today the whole world knows there was no WMD; the whole world also knows
that over one million Iraqis have lost their lives since the invasion and
the once thriving country has been devastated. What can be more
"terrorist" than that?
Now we come to my "son", Farouk. I call him son, not only because I am
old enough to be his father, but because I feel pity for him and if
possible, I will adopt him. If it is possible to visit him, I will hug him
and tell him that he has not been abandoned; that in my books, he is not a
terrorist. Again the facts at our disposal should be our guide. And what
do we know?
Why did he do it?
First we know that Farouk is the son of one of the richest men in Nigeria
and that he stands to inherit — if we can save him from the executioners
— millions of naira and, may be, even dollars. In fact, he will probably
not ever have to work for a living if he chooses not to and he will still
live in affluence for the rest of his life. The obvious question is: why
does a fellow like that want to blow himself up? Once that question crops
up in your mind, you begin to see the truth, namely that we have a mind
disturbed in a handsome body frame.
In short Farouk was, and is still, not himself. And nothing proves this
more than the approach he adopted to end his life. In short the fellow was
embarked on suicide in the most "tragic-comical" manner.
Second, most of us forget, when reading about suicide bombers, that the
first word is SUICIDE. That comes before bomber.. Obviously, any person
with so much to live for, and who contemplates suicide, is not a candidate
for the electric chair or the firing squad but a mental hospital.
Third, the poor boy, in absolute ignorance of how to manipulate the device
he procured for the suicide bid, strapped the damned thing to his vital
organs — which raises one question. Which well-adjusted young man still
in his twenties would want to blow off his "tool box"?
Even my old friends, past 70, until their dying days guarded the "strong
room" jealously. Despite the attempt by CNN and other Western media to
prove that the explosive could have blown a hole in the plane's
fuselage, which they considered a sufficient reason to label Farouk as a
"terrorist", the fact remains that if the device had gone off as
planned, Farouk was the only sure candidate for kingdom come. The seats
next to him appeared empty and a plane might still be landed with a hole
in the fuselage.. It has happened before.
Fourth, a real terrorist generally wants to witness the result of his
efforts. They plant an explosive which is detonated by remote control or
with a timer allowing them to get away before the explosion occurs. Just
as in the regular army, a soldier is trained to kill for his country, not
to die. In so far as he dies, he has been a failure. So the real terrorist
wants to live to terrorise another day.
The suicide bomber is another character all together. He would not see the
outcome of his mission — if he succeeds. In that respect, he has a lot
more in common with others embarking on self-liquidation. Having decided
to end his life, the next most important question is: how?
The methods range from those who go alone to those who decide not to
"walk alone". And once it is decided that the exit must be
accomplished by taking a crowd along, then it does not matter whether he
drives his car on the path of a speeding train, or a fully loaded bus or a
plane full of passengers. Farouk chose the plane and he is no more a
terrorist than the fellow who caused the train to derail taking 400 people
with him.
Nigerians must save Farouk
So far, all evidence at our disposal can only support one conclusion —
suicide. That it occurred on Delta Airlines and in a plane coming to land
in Detroit are secondary considerations. And if it is suicide, the fellow
should not be executed but helped. And the only people who can help him
are Nigerians. And Alhaji Mutallab must take the lead for his son to be
saved.
We must adopt the Western approach; which means we establish a SAVE FAROUK
ORGANISATION. Its functions will include raising funds to ensure that
Farouk obtains the best legal team money can engage. The second is to
start a multimedia campaign, including using CNN, to convince the world
that Farouk is not a mass murderer but a sick young man.
The third is to insist that Nigeria's leading psychiatrists should be
called to assess his mental state. It is doubtful if an American or
English doctor can accurately diagnose mental illness in a Nigerian who is
not a raving lunatic already.
Fourth, the Federal Government of Nigeria, instead of distancing itself
from Farouk, should use diplomatic approaches to get him released to a
Nigerian psychiatric hospital for treatment. The fifth is to get
Nigeria's media executioners to stop labeling the fellow a terrorist and
to join the campaign to save Farouk.
It will not be easy, given the prejudicial statements most commentators
have made before. But, we must hold the life of every Nigerian so sacred
as not to throw them to foreign wolves when they present with evidence
that they are asking for help which  sometimes manifests itself in
extremism.
Finally, this is not an issue which should be confronted by Muslims alone.
I am a Christian; but, that should not stop me from standing up and
defending a Muslim who is being led to the slaughter house as we are now
doing to our son Farouk. Will you join the struggle?
http://www.vanguard ngr.com/2010/ 01/04/farouk- terrorist- no-misguided- yes/

[bakangizo]

Interesting. I salute the writer fo having courage, and honesty to put up something like this.

[David_McEwan_Hill]

Have you heard the saying "two wrongs can never make a right"?
It is irrelevant what anybody else has done anywhere else.
It is simply wrong and deeply evil to blow up a plane and kill hundreds of completely innocent people.
And it is wrong and deeply evil for religious zealots to persuade an impressionable and unhappy young man that this was good thing to do.

Both Islam and Christianity agree unanimously. Mass murder and suicide are evil and cannot be justified in any circumstance.

[bakangizo]

How is it irrelevant what someone did elsewhere? Are some lives more important than others? I would rather take a plane bomber than the mass murder and massacre America is committing on a daily basis in muslim countries. Before you say it is a result of 9/11, let me remind you that the US has been perpetrating acts of terrorism for decades, either directly or indirectly. Countries that were made to bear the brunt of America's evil acts like Cuba, Vietnam etc come to mind. How about the virtual genocide being carried out on the Palestines by Isreal, with the active support of the US?  How come Isreal is not labelled a terror by America?

No one said what Farouk attempted to do was right. But to isolate it from the issues raised by the writer is a hypocrisy of the highest order. America gave birth to all these. Now it is reaping from what it sowed.

[lionger]

While I generally agree with certain points the writer made, such as the culpability of Britain over Nigeria for the radicalization of Farouk, and the need for Nigeria to put up more of a fight for its incarcerated citizens overseas, I find the main thrusts of this article more easily exemplify the opposite end of what maxsiollun described above as 'unsophisticated news reporting' at best.

First of all, Sobowale's attempt at redefining Farouk as his potentially mentally unstable 'misguided son' who 'attempted to commit suicide' is clearly bankrupt. Frankly it makes a fool of those that propagate it, just as Nigeria's re-branding project which Sobowale seems to love has made a fool out of Dora Akunyili (who really would have been better off walking the path of Okonja Iweala rather than becoming a tool of government propaganda). Farouk is a would-be terrorist and mass murderer and we ought to be thankful that he did not succeed on Christmas Day.

At first it is difficult to imagine why anyone would strain to such a ridiculous defense of Farouk, but perhaps Sobowale betrays his sympathies in his poorly coordinated delve into the Israeli-Palestinian crisis and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which all serve as rallying calls for al Qaeda and similar fundamentalist groups. He argues that Nigerians must not buy into the Western arguement on these issues - but conversely one might also ask why Nigerians should buy into that of Arab countries, or even worse, that of Al Qaeda. Must we be active participants in these conflicts? If Farouk can somehow be construed as a 'liberator' - whose liberator is he, Nigeria's? Why couldnt Farouk be passionate about the state of his fellow northern Nigerian muslims, most of whom languish in unescapable poverty? How about Darfur, which is relatively closer to home and where far more Muslims have died over the past decade than in Palestine or Afghanistan? The truth is that Farouk's (and Sobowale's?) causes are largely based on an extremely parochial attitude to complex issues, and they need to be exposed as such.

It goes without saying that we in Nigeria need to step up our game on the domestic and foreign fronts. Our placement on the terror watchlist may be unjustified, but is symptomatic of our worsening relationship with the U.S., exacerbated all the more by our apparent policy of 'absenteeism' championed by our absentee President. Sobowale proposes an extremely inappropriate and insensitive 'Save Farouk' media campaign but misses the fact that any such project is fruitless as long as our diplomatic arm remains blunt. Do we realize that at the time of the Farouk incident on Christmas Day, there was no sitting Nigerian ambassador to the US? Then of cousre there is President Yar'adua, who could not have chosen a worse time to be MIA. No ambassador in the U.S.,  no President at home - how then can we expect to have fruitful high-level diplomatic exchange in the face of such a crisis?  Ironically Sobowale deems the American health sector as unfit for proper psychoanalysis of Farouk and wants him released to a Nigerian hospital instead. Of course, our hospitals are so great! No wonder our President apparently feels that he can rule the country from the sick bed of a hospital in Saudi Arabia. Speaking of media campaign, I wonder if Sobowale got a chance to watch foreign minister Ojo Madueke's embarassing debut on BBC's HardTalk a couple of weeks ago. How's that for rebranding Nigeria?

Nigeria will also have to keep up its vigilance on the domestic front. While, as I have said, Nigeria need not bear the brunt of responsibility for the Farouk incident, there are other signs that are troubling. From the Maitatsine upheaval in 1980 until the Boko Haram riots of 2009, there has been a distinct foreign element in not a few of the religious riots in the North. Recently the North African branch of al Qaeda has offered military help to the Muslims in fighting Christians in the wake of the Jos riots. These signs are very worrying. If we do not like what is happening in Afghanistan, then lets be sure that it does not replicate itself in Nigeria. U.S. actions in the Muslim world may be objectionable; however, we could do with far more constructive engagement other than violent retribution over conflicts that are secondary at best. It really is that simple.

Gogannaka and Bakan-Gizo, I would like to know why you found this article outstanding. I find Sobowale's attempt at rebranding the Farouk incident quite objectionable; there is nothing to gain in  taking the ostrich approach to evade reality.

[David_McEwan_Hill]

I expected a silly response full of non-sequiturs and Bakan Gizo has obliged.
I will repeat it is entirely irrelevant what has happened anywhere else in the past, no matter how many innocent lives have been lost elsewhere, no matter the evil visited on Iraq by US, no matter the evil of Israel, etc.etc etc. the blowing up of a plane full of entirely innocent civilan people is totally evil and cannot be justified under any moral circumstance.
Full stop.
I suppose you would have found the act of blowing the plane up justified even if your mother or your sister or your wife had been on it.

That many evil things have been done in this world there is no doubt. That the US has done more evil than any other power is what I firmly believe and have very often said so. Blowing up a full plane full of people who have had nothing to do with any of that evil in no way solves any of that problem.
The remark of Bakan Gizo shows why some people justify to themselves to become terrorists. Terrorists kill lots of innocent people and destroy the case they are trying to make. They are fools.

[David_McEwan_Hill]

Brilliant article, Lionger. There speaks a voice that is really concerned that Nigeria grows up and joins the world community as a senior and sensible nation.

And Darfour! How many times have I tried to introduce a sensible debate about Darfour to KanoOnline?  You know Darfour? That's the place,very close to Nigeria, in which moslem arabs are killing moslem black people with Sudan Government assent. Even the brave Nigerian troops sent there to try to keep the peace tell the tales of the genocide and how they do not have the equipment to do the job but many on Kanoline would like to pretend that Darfour isn't happening.

[Muhsin]

No one said what Farouk attempted to do was right. But to isolate it from the issues raised by the writer is a hypocrisy of the highest order. America gave birth to all these. Now it is reaping from what it sowed.

What is silly there, Dave? Don't talk like a person who knows little or nothing about the happenings around the world. I perfectly know you are not that uninformed or misinformed.

Remember, for a quick example, American drones thatvirtually every week kill hundred lives in Afghanistan and/or Pakistan. What will you do to America or Americans if your mother, sister, uncle, etc happens to be among those murdered souls? Tell me; wouldn't you be tempted to retaliate? Beside, a number of non-Muslims don't understand something, an thats a deeply-rooted brotherhood is Muslims' heart. Am sure if you could converse with Farouk he'll tell you he wanted to avenge his Muslim brothers and sisters constanly killed in those places (plus Iraq, Palestine, etc). We all feel it.

And America loves its citizens all the same.

Don't misapprehend me: I am not trying in any way to justify Farouk's action. And believe me no Muslim (especially here) will, for none have the guts. But UK and US are to largely be blamed for breeding folks like the poor Farouk; and for other inhuman action of butchering, maiming Muslims and that of supporting Israel.

Muhsin

[Dave_McEwan_Hill]

I agree completely with much of what you say .
There are many reasons for his actions.
There are no excuses however and islamist zealots who lie to troubled young men telling them of the magnificent rewards they will get in paradise if they do these evil actions are deeply guilty of wicked actions.