Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab arraigned in court

The Nigerian at the centre of the Christmas Day bomb plot made his first appearance in a US federal court yesterday to be charged with the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, for which he could face up to 90 years in jail.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was due to appear in court in Detroit as conservatives stepped up criticism of the decision to try him in a civilian court rather than before a military tribunal.

Abdulmutallab’s father, who has been hailed as a hero in the US for reporting concerns about his son to the American Embassy in Nigeria, was not expected at yesterday’s hearing even though he may never see his son at liberty again.
The charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction — in this case the explosives sewn into his underpants — has been added to the case against him since officials first filed a criminal complaint on Christmas Day. It raises Mr. Abdulmutallab’s potential jail term from 20 to 90 years.

Two Nigerian lawyers, led by Maryam Uwais, the wife of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Uwais, came to observe the proceedings. The other lawyer was Mahmud Kazuare from Maryland. They were accompanied by diplomatic officials from the Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC. The court reserved a front row for the observer lawyers and diplomats.

The courtroom was packed with accredited officials, lawyers and the media. Security was tight inside and outside of the courtroom. President Obama’s chief counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, has hinted that a plea bargain could be offered to persuade Mr Abdulmutallab to reveal details of al-Qaeda networks and conspiracies that he may have learnt about in Yemen.

Farouk Abdulmutallab was represented at taxpayers’ expense by a team of lawyers led by Miriam Siefer, a highly regarded public defender with long experience of ensuring that unpopular clients receive due process.

She represented James Nichols when he was a suspect along with his brother, Terry Nichols, in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and has worked on several previous cases involving disturbances on Northwest Airlines flights landing in Detroit.

The charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction — in this case the explosives sewn into his underpants — has been added to the case against him since officials first filed a criminal complaint on Christmas Day. It raises Mr. Abdulmutallab’s potential jail term from 20 to 90 years.

Umar Farouk’s lawyers from the Public Defender’s office guided him in taking a no-guilty plea. Farouk spoke in measured low tones, spelling out his names and explaining that he understood the charges and that his lawyers had told him he would be remanded in prison custody until the next court date.

He pleaded “Not Guilty?” asked a Nigerian observer outside the courthouse in surprise, “I thought he would seize the last chance of personal dignity by pleading guilty and suggesting that he be executed publicly.”