Report: Bomb plot accused had strong views at school

Nigerian newspaper, ThisDay, has claimed the 23-year-old charged with trying to destroy a Detroit-bound airliner, began to show increasingly radical views on Islam during his high school days.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s attendance at the elite British International School in Lome, Togo, attended by children of diplomats and wealthy Africans, could not be confirmed by school officials today.

But Efemena Mokedi, who now lives in the US, remembered Abdulmutallab from their days on the basketball team at the exclusive school as “a smart kid” and “a friendly person”.

In an interview broadcast by the BBC, the former student said: “He was a very religious person, a very honest person. He was friends with all the teachers.”

“He’s a very good guy, a very good chap.”