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Gunmen have kidnapped more than 300 pupils and educators in what appears to be the largest group abductions in recent Nigerian experience, according to a religious organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria came just a short time after armed men attacked a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 young women.

Initial accounts had stated 227 victims were taken, but updated numbers emerged after a detailed assessment confirmed that 303 students and 12 educators had been abducted.

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

Official Response and Safety Measures

State officials have confirmed that security agencies and law enforcement are presently conducting a thorough assessment to verify the precise number of missing people.

In response to the increasing safety fears, the state government has mandated the closure of every schools in the state, with neighboring states adopting comparable preventive actions.

Additionally, the federal education department has directed the provisional closure of 47 residential high schools throughout the country.

President Bola Tinubu has postponed overseas commitments, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on managing the crisis.

Recent Violent Events

The educational institution abductions represent the most recent in a sequence of safety incidents that have shaken the nation, including an attack on a church in western Nigeria where gunmen killed two individuals and abducted dozens worshipers during a live-streamed service.

These incidents have taken place against the background of international attention on Nigeria's safety situation.

Historical Background

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the legacy of the mass kidnapping of nearly 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with some of those girls still unaccounted for.

Firsthand Accounts

In a concerning recording circulated by Christian organizations, a frightened employee recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "violent banging" on various entrances of the compound.

"Students were weeping," the staff member reported, describing her fear while looking for keys to the area where the screaming was most intense.

The local Catholic authority confirmed that the "assailants operated violently and without interruption for almost three hours, searching dormitories."

Citizen Reaction and Concerns

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried guardians were picking up their children from schools following the closure directive.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her shock at the scale of the kidnapping, asking how 300 students could be abducted simultaneously.

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to combat the security crisis," and voiced approval for external intervention to "resolve this situation."

Continuing Safety Issues

For a long time, well-equipped bandit groups 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 claimed responsibility for the recent attacks, criminal groups seeking financial compensation frequently target schools in countryside locations where security is inadequate.

These gangs maintain camps in extensive forest areas straddling several states in the west of Nigeria.

Although these bandits have no ideological leanings and are mainly driven by financial gain, their increasing alliance with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a major source of concern for officials and experts alike.