Nigerian Senate issues ultimatum to US over terror watchlist

The West African country was blacklisted by the US as a country whose citizens would receive additional searching while passing through American airports.

Senate's spokesperson Anyaogu Eze has said it would take "appropriate action" if the US failed to remove the country's name from the watchlist.

He said the "obvious flaws" by the US security system led to the failed attack and accused the American security agents of incompetence and irresponsibility.

Notably, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian, was arrested after allegedly trying to set off a bomb hidden in his underwear on a US Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas day.

Earlier, the country's House of Representatives Committee Chairman on the Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa had critisised the inclusion saying that there was no al Qaeda terror cells in Nigeria.

Dabiri-Erewa went on to add that a British citizen hid bombs in his shoes in an aircraft did not encourage America to blacklist the UK.
Besides Nigeria, the US terror watchlist of 14 countries, includes Iran, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.