Secondary schools have been ordered to close across Nigeria's northeastern state of Yobe after the Islamist organization Boko Haram reportedly killed at least 22 students, and then torched their school, BBC News reported. Yobe Governor Ibrahim Gaidam condemned the "cold blooded murder" attack on Saturday at the Mamudo boarding school. Many schools have been terrorized and burned by Islamists since 2010.
Gaidim described the attackers as "callous and devoid of any shred of humanity," before ordering the state's secondary schools to be closed until the start of the new academic term in September. Gaidam also called on the government to lift a blocking of mobile phone signals across the state, BBC News reported.
'Lack of [Global System for Mobile Communications] service has prevented patriotic citizens who have hitherto collaborating with security agents from reporting suspicious movements in their neighborhoods," Gaidam said in a statement.
Yobe is one of three states where President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May, BBC News also reported. President Goodluck also sent thousands of troops to the area.
More than 600 people were believed to have been killed in 2012 by Boko Haram, which is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north.
The British interior ministry also announced that Boko Haram is to be banned in Britain under anti-terror laws
The Home Office said British-based extremists Minbar Ansar Deen, also known as Ansar al-Sharia UK, would also be proscribed from Friday, subject to parliamentary approval.
"This will make membership of, and support for, these organisations a criminal offence," the ministry said in a statement.
"The government is determined to work with the international community to tackle terrorism and take the steps necessary to keep the UK public safe.
"Proscription of these groups sends a clear message that we condemn their activities."
Boko Haram - which means "Western education is sacrilege" - has launched a guerrilla campaign of bombings and shootings across Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north. It is blamed for at least 792 killings last year alone, according to the Associated Press. It is known to have ties to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, also known as AQIM, an Algerian-based group that also reportedly operates in Mali.
