20091226

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered the country's security agencies to investigate an apparent attempted attack on a U.S. passenger plane, the government said on Saturday.

A Nigerian man believed to be linked to al Qaeda militants was in custody on Saturday after he tried to ignite an explosive device on the plane as it approached Detroit, U.S. officials said.

"As a nation we abhor all forms of terrorism. The Vice President ... has directed Nigerian security agencies to commence full investigation of the incident," Information Minister Dora Akunyili said in a statement.

"While steps are being taken to verify the identity of the alleged suspect and his motives, our security agencies will cooperate fully with the American authorities in the ongoing investigations," the statement said.

Officials from Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority and its Federal Ports Authority met on Saturday to discuss the incident.

"All the necessary security measures are in place in Nigeria. Any passenger, including crew members, on any flight is subject to the same security screening," a spokesman for Nigeria's Federal Airport Authority said.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation, roughly equally divided between Christians and Muslims spread across more than 200 ethnic groups who generally live peacefully side by side.

There has been no conclusive evidence of an al Qaeda presence in the West African nation, although it arrested a group of Islamists with suspected links to al Qaeda in 2007.

Some Western diplomats have expressed concern that -- with its huge population, widespread poverty and strategic importance as an oil supplier to the West and to China -- Nigeria could become a target for radical Islamic groups.