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Gunmen have kidnapped in excess of 300 schoolchildren and staff in what appears to be the biggest group abductions in modern Nigerian times, as stated by a Christian organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Institutions

The early Friday raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state happened just days after armed men stormed a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 female students.

Earlier reports had stated 227 individuals were taken, but revised figures surfaced after a detailed assessment determined that 303 pupils and 12 teachers had been kidnapped.

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

Official Reaction and Security Actions

State authorities have confirmed that intelligence agencies and law enforcement are currently performing a thorough census to establish the precise number of abducted individuals.

In response to the growing security concerns, the state government has mandated the closure of every schools in the state, with nearby states following comparable precautionary actions.

Furthermore, the federal education ministry has directed the temporary closure of 47 residential high schools across the country.

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled overseas engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on addressing the emergency.

Recent Security Incidents

The school kidnappings represent the latest in a sequence of security breaches that have shaken the country, including an assault on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where assailants killed two people 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 Background

Nigeria remains scarred by the legacy of the large-scale abduction of nearly 300 female students by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with several of those victims still missing.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a concerning recording shared by Christian organizations, a distraught employee recounted hearing the sounds of bikes and cars before hearing "violent banging" on multiple entrances of the school premises.

"Students were weeping," the staff member said, describing her panic while searching for access to the area where the screaming was loudest.

The regional Catholic authority confirmed that the "attackers acted aggressively and without interruption for almost three hours, moving through 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 educational institutions following the shutdown directive.

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

She concluded that the "authorities is not doing enough to curb insecurity," and voiced approval for external intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Security Challenges

For years, heavily armed criminal gangs have been conducting murders and kidnappings for ransom in rural areas of northern and central Nigeria, where government control is limited.

While nobody has taken credit for the latest attacks, criminal groups demanding ransom payments often attack schools in countryside locations where protection is weak.

These groups maintain camps in vast forest areas spanning multiple states in the west of Nigeria.

Although these bandits have no ideological leanings and are mainly motivated by financial gain, their increasing alliance with jihadist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant source of worry for officials and experts alike.