By Dickson Omobola
On December 25, 2009, a Nigerian terrorist, Umar Abdulmutallab, better known as the Christmas Bomber, attempted to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253 en route to Detroit.
Abdulmutallab, who held a Nigerian passport and a valid US tourist visa, travelled from Ghana to Amsterdam, where he boarded a flight to Detroit.
As the flight approached Detroit, while some passengers heard popping noises and smelled a foul odour, others saw flames on Abdulmutallab’s trouser leg and the wall of the plane, indicating that something was amiss.
After his failed suicide bombing attempt, he was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Airport by US Customs and Border Protection, CBP, leading to diplomatic tension between Nigeria and the United States.
At a recent event hosted by Saptco Communication Limited at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Annex in Lagos, former Director General of the NCAA, Dr Harold Demuren, who recounted the incident, explained how Nigeria protected its reputation.
Background:
During our time (while he was DG of the NCAA), we (Nigeria) were on the country-of-interest watchlist (due to the Abdulmutallab incident). Do you remember that? But we removed Nigeria’s name from that list. The way to do such a thing is by being honest. The facts are there for them to see, so you have to be honest with them.
How it started
That night (when the incident happened), General Manager, Public Affairs of the NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, came to the office before we brought the press from Sky News, CNN and others. A lot of people were there with us when we made the statement to the world that the incident did not happen in Nigeria. We narrated what happened to them and informed them about what we did.
We told them very clearly that at that time, we did not have a machine capable of detecting powder (explosives) or something. However, we had machines that could detect guns or metal because we had metal detectors at the airports. At that time, it was not a crime not to have such a machine because we were not killing one another in Africa.
Bad time for Nigeria
It was a bad time for Nigeria. We had just got Category One (CAT 1 allows Nigerian carriers to operate directly to any city or airport in the US), and suddenly, that happened. As a result, they (the United States) stopped everything with us, and we could not talk to the United States Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, again. On that fateful day, the news was everywhere that Nigeria wanted to kill America.
D-day
We had to explain to them that the man, a Nigerian, came to the airport. His father (Alhaji Mutallab, a wealthy Nigerian banker and businessman) had complained to the National Security Adviser’s office, the embassy and the National Intelligence Agency, but we did not know about it. However, we just found out that one day, this thing happened. The day it happened, the then Minister, Babatunde Omotoba, called my phone, to which I answered. He said: ‘Demuren, are you sleeping? Look at the time.’ I replied: ‘Yes, I am sleeping, sir.’ He said: ‘Turn on your television, tune in to CNN and call me back.’ I turned on my television, tuned in to the station and saw the television anchors saying: ‘Nigeria, Nigeria wants to kill America.’ I shouted: ‘Haba! What is this?’
But thank God for cooperation. Immediately I saw it, I called the former Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Richard Aisuebeogun, and told him to meet me at the office at 10 am latest. I called the Airport Commandant, the Airport Commissioner of Police, the Air Force, Customs and Immigration.
We had the Airport Security Council, which I headed as the DG of NCAA, and we held regular meetings. After my calls, we met and worked till night. By 10:00 to 10:30 pm, we were told that the press had been moving around seeking answers to the situation. So we informed them that we were ready for them.
Announcement
We announced to the world that the boy, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who came to Nigeria, was coming from Ghana. No one realised that he had bought a ticket from Ghana a few days before. A young man, a Nigerian, in Ghana, went to the KLM office and wanted to travel Accra-Amsterdam-Detroit.
On that day, he had no luggage, so he looked suspicious to the KLM person. The KLM person had wondered how a young Nigerian would go to America without luggage. The KLM staff went to the back office and reported. But before they could arrive, Abdulmutallab had been taken away. He went back to prepare.
He had bought the ticket with cash, not on a credit card, so no one could detect him. He went back to prepare. When he came back, they were smarter this time. He bought two KLM tickets in cash. One was Lagos-Amsterdam-Detroit. The second ticket was on Virgin Nigeria, and it was Accra-Lagos-Accra. No one could have suspected anything. He went to the counter of Virgin Nigeria, went to their counter and there was no problem because he was a Nigerian. But this time, he checked a package in.
Terrible
That day when the incident became the talk of the town, I was not nice to Richard Aisuebogun, but it was not my fault. It was terrible for him (Aisuebogun) that day. I remember telling him to go and bring the Station Manager of KLM, and he said he was sleeping.
I told him: ‘I don’t understand what you are saying. Who is sleeping? Go and bring him here.’ It was that bad because while we were in the hall, the only thing we could hear on the television was ‘Nigeria wants to kill America.’ Later, I was told I had a visitor whom I had to see immediately. When I asked who, I was told it was the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI. I left everybody and went to my office to hold meetings. At the time, orders were flying because when you are put on a watchlist, you have to react. You must work for it and correct all the impressions, while being factual.
How Nigeria was saved
If you recall, there was a company working for FAAN called Menzies, and the system was working. That day, Abdulmutallab came in and landed in Nigeria. He did not call his father, he did not call his mother, he did not call anybody. Immediately he passed through our security, we saw him on the CCTV camera. Our time was ticking, and the minister was calling me every hour to get a situation report.
From the CCTV footage, we noticed something happened. What that boy did that day showed that Nigeria had no business with him at all. When he came out, he went straight upstairs to check in at the KLM counter. They took him as a normal person, seeking his passport and others. After that, they got a report from America that he (Abdulmutallab) could travel. KLM confirmed to us that America approved him to travel.
However, we had not seen the footage to confirm who checked him in. So we told immigration to find those details. Luckily for us, they saw the exact time it happened, not just in hours, but in minutes and seconds. That development was good for Nigeria.
Next step
What happened after? Because KLM had secondary screening, which we had introduced for increased security alerts, when he got there, we saw him (on the CCTV camera) before he was screened and allowed to go in.
How Nigeria exonerated itself
Finally, at about 10 p.m., (after so much inconvenience), we saw the remaining footage. I must tell you that everything went well for Nigeria that day. When he (Abdulmutallab) arrived, he was captured. When he came through the security, we saw him. When they opened his bag from Ghana, we saw him. He took the bag and went out. When he was standing in front of the KLM ticketing booth, we saw him. We tried zooming in on the footage to see if there was anybody with him, but we did not get anything.
In fact, I called the KLM lady to ask her if she could recall if anyone was with him, but she cried, saying she did not see anyone, but what made her suspicious of him was the fact that a young Nigerian was travelling to the US without any luggage, but when she looked at his passport, she found that he was over 18 and could travel.
No business with Nigeria
Abdulmutallab had no business with Nigeria, but because he couldn’t go from Ghana, that was why he detoured through Nigeria. So, we were not involved in any way. When he got to Amsterdam, it happened on the Amsterdam-Detroit route. Could we blame America at the time? They thought it was Nigeria that wanted to kill them.
Information
We had to give them the information that it was not true. After being convinced about the situation, we made our announcement. When they got the information (that Nigeria was not involved), they didn’t want us to talk. I was begged not to make the statement (but he did). It caused a problem, and we were then summoned the following Sunday to Abuja. Goodluck Jonathan was then the acting President, and we went to his house.
I went with the Minister, Omotoba. When we got there, we had a meeting. I was very grateful to the Nigerian security because I was shocked when the NSA office, the Air Force, the NIA, all of them, said: ‘Sir, this statement by the NCAA is what we stand with, and we were not changing anything. It’s professional work, we agree.’
Systematic failure
Many questioned why we held a press conference, but it was that press conference that former President Barack Obama got and said they had a systematic failure in their system. They were informed that Abdulmutallab was coming, and they said he could come, so why bring Nigeria into it?
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