Written by Abubakar A. Ibrahim
Sunday, 27 December 2009 00:32


Farouk Umar Abdulmutallab is the son of retired First Bank chief, Dr Umaru Abdulmutallab, who hails from Katsina State. Though information on the would- be bomber is still sketchy, Sunday Trust gathered that he was born in 1986. He spent most of his formative years outside Nigeria and can best be described as British-educated.
He had his secondary education at British School of Lome, Togo, a school established 25 years ago to cater for the needs of British expatriates in the West African country. The school currently has students from about 37 different countries and caters for students between ages 3-18. While there, Abdul Mutallab became known for his radical views.

After graduation, he relocated to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. His radical tendencies took another dimension and became increasingly disturbing to his parents who tried to call him to order, according to family sources. He was admitted into the University College, London in 2005 as a student of Mechanical engineering, a programme that would have ended June, 2008.

His father, Dr Umaru Abdulmutallab had reported his son as a security threat to both US and Nigerian security agencies several months ago and the US had him on a security list though he was not considered a serious risk and was not placed on a ‘no flight list.’

Early reports have linked him to Alqaeda but US security agents have cautioned against this claims, saying though he has terrorist tendencies, he is not known to be affiliated to any terror group.

Abdulmutallab is from a very rich, polygamous family. His father, recently retired as Chairman of First Bank , one of the country’s biggest banks and is currently heading the soon-to-take-off Jaiz Bank.

It has not been determined where or how Abdulmutallib picked up his extremist views, it is known that he has spent more years outside Nigeria than in it. He admitted being trained for a month as a suicide bomber in Yemen. Details about him remain sketchy as all websites or blogs with information about him have been blocked. Already, some sites that contained his image have been rigged with virus by unknown parties.

His last known address is a four million pounds house in Central London, where Metropolitan Police have been conducting investigations.

http://www.sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2393:faruk-profile-of-a-rebellious-son&catid=41:latest-news&Itemid=26