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Armed attackers have kidnapped more than 300 schoolchildren and staff in what appears to be the most significant group abductions in recent Nigerian history, as stated by a religious organization on the weekend.

Escalating Crisis in School Facilities

The pre-dawn Friday raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria came just days after armed men attacked a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, seizing 25 girls.

Initial reports had suggested 227 individuals were seized, but new numbers emerged after a comprehensive verification exercise established that 303 students and 12 instructors had been abducted.

The abducted pupils, ranging between eight and 18 years, account for nearly 50 percent of the school's total student population of 629.

Official Response and Security Actions

State authorities have confirmed that intelligence departments and law enforcement are currently conducting a comprehensive assessment to establish the exact number of missing individuals.

In response to the growing security concerns, the local authorities has ordered the closure of all schools in the region, with nearby states following similar precautionary steps.

Additionally, the national education department has directed the provisional closure of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

President Bola Tinubu has postponed overseas engagements, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on managing the situation.

Recent Security Incidents

The educational institution kidnappings constitute the latest in a sequence of security incidents that have shaken the nation, including an attack on a church in the west of Nigeria where assailants killed two individuals and seized numerous congregation members during a live-streamed service.

These events have taken place against the backdrop of global focus on Nigeria's security situation.

Historical Background

Nigeria remains traumatized by the legacy of the mass kidnapping of almost 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with some of those victims still unaccounted for.

Firsthand Accounts

In a concerning recording shared by Christian groups, a distraught school staff member recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and cars before experiencing "violent banging" on various gates of the school premises.

"Students were screaming," the witness reported, recounting her fear while searching for access to the area where the screaming was loudest.

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

Citizen Reaction and Fears

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried parents were collecting their students from schools following the shutdown order.

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her shock at the magnitude of the abduction, asking how 300 students could be taken at once.

She stated that the "government is not doing enough to curb the security crisis," and voiced approval for external assistance to "resolve this situation."

Continuing Safety Issues

For a long time, heavily armed criminal gangs have been conducting killings and abductions for ransom in rural areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where government control is limited.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the latest incidents, criminal groups demanding ransom payments frequently target schools in countryside locations where protection is weak.

These gangs maintain bases in vast woodland areas spanning several states in western Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no ideological leanings and are mainly motivated by financial gain, their growing cooperation with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a significant cause of concern for authorities and security analysts alike.