Nigerian bomb suspect was student at U.K. university

December 26, 2009 04:46 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 07:01 am IST - London

This video grab shows a person dressed in protective clothing climbing the stairs of the Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on the runway after arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Amsterdam on Friday in Romulus, Michigan. A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria, who said he was acting on al-Qaeda's instructions, tried to blow up the plane on Friday as it was landing in Detroit.

This video grab shows a person dressed in protective clothing climbing the stairs of the Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on the runway after arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Amsterdam on Friday in Romulus, Michigan. A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria, who said he was acting on al-Qaeda's instructions, tried to blow up the plane on Friday as it was landing in Detroit.

A Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up an American transatlantic jet with explosives strapped to his leg was reportedly studying at a British university.

The person caused panic on the plane about to land at Detroit with 278 people aboard when he reportedly tried to detonate some sort of bomb.

He was overpowered by passengers after the device failed to ignite properly.

Reports named him as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, an engineering student at University College London who had applied for a visa to attend a religious seminar.

University College, London, where he is reported to be registered as a student, refused immediate comment.

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