Nigeria has asked the United States to remove it from a list of countries whose air travelers will face tighter screening on U.S.-bound flights.
Nigerian Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe told reporters that he made the request Tuesday during a meeting with U.S. ambassador Robin Sanders in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.
The U.S. increased screening for passengers from 14 countries Sunday, nine days after a Nigerian man tried to blow up a plane approaching the U.S. city of Detroit.
Speaking on Monday, Nigeria's information minister said her country's inclusion on the list was unfair. Dora Akunylil said the move amounts to discrimination against more than 150 million Nigerians because of the behavior of one person.
Nigerian officials have noted repeatedly that the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, appears to have received his terrorist training abroad.
The would-be bomber is believed to have been trained by al-Qaida operatives in Yemen.
The terrorist group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
