Nigerian-based Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram, is to be banned in Britain under anti-terror laws, British Interior Ministry announced yesterday.



Meanwhile, 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.

The ministry said in a statement, "this will make membership of, and support for, these organisations a criminal offence.




"The government is determined to work with the international community to tackle terrorism and take the steps necessary to keep the UK public safe.


Scene of the blast at St.Theresa Catholic Church Madala, Suleja Road




"Proscription of these groups sends a clear message that we condemn their activities."

Some 3,600 people have been killed during Boko Haram's four-year insurgency in north and central Nigeria, according to Human Rights Watch.




British government said its ban on Boko Haram would give police the power to target British support for the group.




The British-based Minbar Ansar Deen allegedly promotes terror through its website and encourages people to travel abroad to engage in extremist activity, the Home Office added.

Terrorism Act

Under the 2000 Terrorism Act, the home secretary, or Interior Minister, can ban an organisation if it is believed to have terror links.

If the ban on Boko Haram and Minbar Ansar Deen is approved by parliament, it will be a criminal offence in Britain to belong to or support the groups, as well as to arrange meetings or wear clothing supporting them.

Al-Qaeda and Somalia's Al-Shabaab insurgents are also proscribed under British law.

Offenders could face fines of up to £5,000 or up to 10 years in prison.


Boko Haram is a militant Islamist group based in Nigeria led by the country's most wanted man, Abubakar Shekau.




Its name means "Western education is forbidden" and it has waged an insurgency for more than a decade.




The United States, yesterday, posted up to $23 million in rewards to help track down five leaders of militant groups adccused of spreading terror in West Africa.

The highest reward of $7 million is offered for Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, who last week called on Islamists in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq to join the bloody fight to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.

The US State Department's Rewards for Justice program also targeted Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), offering its first ever bounties for wanted militants in west Africa.

Up to $5 million was posted for Al-Qaeda veteran Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the one-eyed Islamist behind the devastating attack on an Algerian gas plant in January in which 37 foreigners, including three Americans, were killed. A further $5 million was offered for top AQIM leader Yahya Abou Al-Hammam, reportedly involved in the 2010 murder of an elderly French hostage in Niger.

The Home Office has not yet offered further information on why it is pursuing the ban of both groups.

Raffaello Pantucci, senior research fellow at the RUSI think tank, said the move indicated that the government sees them as a "potential threat".

Banning the groups would give the police powers to tackle their support networks.

The UK-based Minbar Ansar Deen's website has links to Abu Nusaybah, who was arrested after appearing on the BBC's Newsnight programme talking about Michael Adebolajo, one of the suspects in the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich.

Mr Pantucci said: "It is impossible to say that this constitutes 'a link,' but looking at the group's website they certainly seem to come from the same ideological constellation."

The activities of the Nigerian-based Boko Haram are usually confined to poor, Muslim parts of northern and central Nigeria.

Historically there is little evidence of Boko Haram targeting the UK, Mr Pantucci said.

"Britain's Nigerian community is 90% Christian," said Mr Pantucci, adding that Nigerian terror suspects in the UK were "usually Muslim converts".

However, earlier this year Boko Haram kidnapped a French family in Cameroon. A Nigerian government report revealed the group was paid more than £2m before releasing its hostages.




The Home Office's move to ban the group could indicate that it is becoming more international, "or leaning in that direction", Mr Pantucci said.

Theresa May flagged up Boko Haram, among other extremist groups, in a speech on terrorism in July 2011.


She said: "Increasingly, the threat to Britain comes not just from al-Qaeda's core leadership itself, but from these so-called al-Qaeda's affiliates in places like Yemen and North Africa… and from associated groups like al-Shabab in Somalia and Boko Haram in northern Nigeria."


A Home Office spokesman said: "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."

There are 49 international terror organisations proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000, including al-Qaeda, al-Shabab and Islam4UK.

The latter, previously led by the radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary, was banned in 2010.




In Northern Ireland, 14 organisations were proscribed under previous legislation.



via nigerianeye


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