KANO, Nigeria - A renowned Nigerian ex-banker, Umaru Mutallab, on Saturday told AFP that the man arrested over a botched attempt to blow up a US airliner on a flight from Amsterdan to Detroit is his son.

"I have been receiving telephone calls from all over the world about my child who has been arrested for an alleged attempt to bomb a plane," Mutallab told AFP on his way to Abuja where he has been summoned by security agents.

"I am really disturbed. I would not want to say anything at the moment until I put myself together. I will address a press conference on the issue on Monday. I have been summoned by the Nigerian security and I am on my way to Abuja to answer the call," he said.

He said he just left his town of Funtua in northern Katsina State for the Nigerian capital.

Nigeria on Saturday ordered a top-level probe after the botched attempt by a young Nigerian to blow up a US plane as it was preparing to land in Detroit on Friday, a government statement said.