AKIPRESS.COM - A suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber in school uniform killed 47 pupils in nort-heast Nigeria yesterday in one of the worst attacks against schools teaching a western-style curriculum, reports AFP.

The explosion ripped through a boys' school in Potiskum just as pupils gathered for morning assembly, causing chaos.

The massacre came just a day after the release of a new Boko Haram video in which the Islamist group's leader, Abubakar Shekau, again rejected Nigerian government claims of a ceasefire.

Pupils at the Government Comprehensive Senior Science Secondary School were waiting to hear the principal's daily address when the explosion happened.

Witnesses described the blast as "thunderous" and the bloody aftermath as a scene of abandoned footwear, charred school books, bags and body parts.

"There was an explosion detonated by a suicide bomber. We have 47 dead and 79 injured," national police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu said, adding that Boko Haram was believed to be responsible for the atrocity.

Ojukwu also confirmed media reports that the bomber was disguised as a pupil at the school.

Pupil Adamu Abdullahi said those at the centre of the blast near the principal's office were flung in all directions.

"I found myself under the weight of another student who fell over me. I'm certain he was dead. I was dazed and confused for a moment.

"I managed to push away the body on top of me. Flesh and blood were splattered all over the place," Abdullahi said.