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Gunmen have abducted over 300 students and teachers in what is considered the most significant mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian experience, according to a religious organization on the weekend.

Growing Emergency in Educational Facilities

The pre-dawn Friday raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state happened just days after gunmen invaded a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, abducting 25 female students.

Initial accounts had suggested 227 individuals were taken, but updated numbers emerged after a comprehensive assessment established that 303 pupils and 12 instructors had been abducted.

The kidnapped children, aged between eight and 18 years, represent nearly half of the school's overall student population of 629.

Government Reaction and Safety Measures

Local authorities have confirmed that intelligence departments and police are currently conducting a comprehensive assessment to determine the exact number of abducted individuals.

In response to the increasing safety fears, the local authorities has directed the shutting of every schools in the state, with neighboring states following comparable precautionary steps.

Furthermore, the federal education department has directed the provisional shutting of 47 boarding secondary schools across the country.

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled overseas commitments, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on managing the emergency.

Latest Violent Incidents

The educational institution abductions constitute the most recent in a sequence of safety incidents that have shaken the country, including an assault on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where gunmen shot dead two individuals and abducted numerous congregation members during a live-streamed service.

These incidents have occurred against the background of global focus on Nigeria's safety situation.

Past Context

Nigeria remains traumatized by the legacy of the mass kidnapping of almost 300 schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with some of those victims still missing.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a disturbing recording shared by religious groups, a distraught employee described hearing the noise of motorcycles and vehicles before experiencing "forceful banging" on multiple gates of the compound.

"Students were screaming," the staff member reported, recounting her panic while looking for access to the section where the crying was loudest.

The local Catholic authority confirmed that the "attackers acted violently and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, moving through dormitories."

Public Response and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, concerned guardians were picking up their children from educational institutions following the closure order.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her shock at the magnitude of the abduction, asking how 300 children could be taken at once.

She concluded that the "authorities is not doing enough to curb insecurity," and expressed approval for external intervention to "resolve this situation."

Ongoing Safety Issues

For a long time, well-equipped criminal gangs have been carrying out murders and abductions for money in remote areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While no group has taken credit for the recent attacks, bandit gangs demanding financial compensation frequently target schools in rural areas where security is weak.

These groups maintain camps in vast forest areas straddling multiple states in western Nigeria.

While these criminals have no political motives and are mainly driven by financial gain, their increasing cooperation with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a major cause of worry for officials and security analysts alike.