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Gunmen have seized over 300 pupils and educators in what appears to be the most significant mass kidnappings in modern Nigerian history, as stated by a religious organization on the weekend.

Growing Emergency in School Institutions

The early Friday raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria occurred just days after gunmen attacked a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, seizing 25 female students.

Initial accounts had suggested 227 victims were seized, but updated numbers surfaced after a comprehensive counting process determined that 303 students and 12 teachers had been abducted.

The taken students, aged between eight and 18 years, account for nearly half of the school's overall student body of 629.

Government Reaction and Safety Measures

State authorities have confirmed that security agencies and law enforcement are currently performing a comprehensive head count to determine the precise number of missing individuals.

In response to the growing safety concerns, 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 directed the provisional shutting of 47 residential high schools throughout the country.

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled overseas commitments, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on handling the situation.

Latest Violent Events

The educational institution abductions represent the most recent in a sequence of safety breaches that have shaken the country, including an assault on a church in the west of Nigeria where assailants shot dead two individuals and abducted numerous worshipers during a online broadcast service.

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

Historical Context

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the memory of the large-scale abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a ten years ago, with several of those victims still missing.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a disturbing video clip circulated by religious groups, a frightened worker recounted hearing the sounds of bikes and vehicles before hearing "violent banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

"Students were crying," the witness reported, describing her panic while looking for keys to the area where the screaming was loudest.

The local Catholic authority confirmed that the "attackers acted aggressively and without interruption for nearly three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Public Reaction and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned parents were picking up their students from schools following the closure directive.

One parent, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, voiced her disbelief at the magnitude of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 students could be taken at once.

She concluded that the "government is failing to act to curb the security crisis," and voiced support for international assistance to "salvage this crisis."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For a long time, heavily armed bandit groups have been carrying out killings and abductions for ransom in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where government control is limited.

While nobody has taken credit for the latest incidents, criminal groups demanding financial compensation frequently target schools in countryside locations where security is weak.

These groups maintain bases in vast woodland areas spanning multiple states in the west of Nigeria.

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