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Gunmen have seized more than 300 schoolchildren and staff in what is considered the largest group abductions in modern Nigerian experience, according to a Christian organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in School Institutions

The early Friday assault on St Mary's co-educational school in Niger state happened just days after gunmen invaded a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 young women.

Initial reports had indicated 227 individuals were taken, but new figures were released after a detailed counting process determined that 303 students and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

The abducted students, aged between eight and 18 years, account for nearly 50 percent of the school's overall enrollment of 629.

Official Reaction and Safety Measures

State authorities have confirmed that security departments and law enforcement are presently performing a thorough assessment to establish the precise number of missing individuals.

In reaction to the growing safety fears, the state government has ordered the closure of every schools in the region, with neighboring states following similar preventive steps.

Furthermore, the national education department has ordered the temporary shutting of 47 boarding secondary schools across the country.

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled international engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on managing the situation.

Recent Security Incidents

The educational institution abductions constitute the most recent in a series of security breaches that have rocked the country, including an assault on a church in western Nigeria where assailants killed two people and abducted numerous congregation members during a online broadcast service.

These incidents have occurred against the backdrop of international attention on Nigeria's safety situation.

Historical Context

Nigeria remains traumatized by the legacy of the large-scale kidnapping of almost 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with several of those girls still missing.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a concerning video clip circulated by religious organizations, a distraught school staff member described hearing the noise of bikes and vehicles before experiencing "forceful banging" on multiple gates of the compound.

"Children were weeping," the staff member stated, recounting her terror while searching for access to the area where the crying was loudest.

The local Catholic diocese stated that the "attackers acted aggressively and without interruption for nearly three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Public Response and Concerns

At the same time, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, worried parents were collecting their children from educational institutions following the closure directive.

One mother, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, voiced her shock at the scale of the kidnapping, asking how 300 students could be taken simultaneously.

She stated that the "government is failing to act to curb insecurity," and expressed approval for international assistance to "resolve this situation."

Continuing Safety Issues

For years, heavily armed bandit groups have been conducting murders and kidnappings for ransom in remote areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where government control is limited.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the recent attacks, criminal groups demanding ransom payments often target schools in countryside locations where security is inadequate.

These gangs maintain bases in extensive forest areas spanning multiple states in western Nigeria.

While these bandits have no ideological leanings and are mainly motivated by monetary profit, their growing alliance with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a major source of worry for officials and experts alike.