The United Nations Security Council declared the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram to be a terrorist group, added to a list of organizations affiliated with al Qaeda.  It makes Boko Haram subject to an arms embargo and asset freeze because of its wave of attacks and the recent abduction of more than schoolgirls.

Australia's UN Ambassador Gary Quinlan says there’s “Very clear evidence” that Boko Haram fighters trained with al Qaeda affiliates in Algeria and Mali.  Quinlan also says Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau established what he called “terrorist solidarity with al Qaeda in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia” and other places.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Teachers staged demonstrations in Abuja, Lagos, and other cities across the country to protest the abduction of the schoolgirls from Chibok town, as well to honor the memories of the 173 teachers killed by Boko Haram during its separatist insurgency.  The name “Boko Haram” means “western education is forbidden”.  The group is seeking to carve itself out a state based on Islamic sharia law.