Nigerian man accused of trying to bring down US flight bought tickets in Ghana

Nigerian plane bomber bought tickets in Ghana

LAGOS, Nigeria — A Nigerian official says the man accused of trying to bring down a U.S. airliner bought his ticket with cash in Ghana eight days before the flight departed Nigeria.

Harold Demuren, the head of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, says Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s ticket came from a KLM office in Accra, Ghana. Demuren said Monday that Abdulmutallab bought the $2,831 round-trip ticket from Lagos, Nigeria, to Detroit via Amsterdam on Dec. 16.

Demuren declined to comment about Abdulmutallab’s travels in the days before he boarded his Dec. 24 flight from Lagos to Detroit via Amsterdam, saying FBI agents and Nigerian officials view the information as “sensitive.” He says Abdulmutallab checked into his flight with only a small carryon bag.