If he was connecting through AMS to NWA/Delta, he probably flew in on KLM. In places like Haiti, lots of places in Africa, lots of places in any number of 3rd-world holes, the major airlines themselves have secondary screening in the gate area. I seem to remember Guatemala City being this way, I know AA does it at Port-a-Prince and some other LA airports. While Lagos Airport has/had crappy security, the major European airlines flying in and out of there have much better security.
That said, I don't think this means a whole lot other than, for the price of a plane ticket and the time and effort to "train" a "bomber", Al Queda or whoever gets a ton of publicity and will most likely cause hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage by sending an idiot like this out with what will probably be a needle of lighter fluid and a container of something flammable. These morons can't mix up an Arnold Palmer, they certainly don't have the ability to perform chemistry in a controlled environment while airborne and anyone who thinks so is a moron.
Just like the guys in the UK that initiated the War On Water, you don't actually have to have a real plan and the money and training to pull it off. Just look like you might and the USA Security Theater players will do the rest for you.
As to the rumors that they'll ban all liquids and powders, that's bogus but if it isn't, you can say goodbye to the airline industry. No one is heading on the road without toiletries.