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Gunmen have kidnapped in excess of 300 pupils and educators in one of the most significant group abductions in modern Nigerian experience, as reported by a religious organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in School Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday assault on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria came just a short time after gunmen stormed a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 young women.

Initial reports had suggested 227 victims were taken, but new numbers were released after a comprehensive counting process determined that 303 students and 12 teachers had been abducted.

The abducted students, ranging between eight and 18 years, represent nearly half of the school's overall student body of 629.

Government Response and Security Measures

Local authorities have announced that security agencies and police are currently conducting a comprehensive assessment to verify the precise number of abducted people.

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

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

President Bola Tinubu has postponed international commitments, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on handling the crisis.

Recent Security Incidents

The educational institution kidnappings represent the most recent in a series of security incidents that have shaken the country, including an attack on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where gunmen killed two individuals and abducted many worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Historical Context

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

Eyewitness Accounts

In a disturbing video clip shared by Christian organizations, a frightened school staff member recounted hearing the sounds of bikes and vehicles before experiencing "forceful banging" on multiple entrances of the school premises.

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

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

Public Reaction and Fears

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

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her shock at the magnitude of the kidnapping, asking how 300 children could be abducted simultaneously.

She concluded that the "government is not doing enough to address insecurity," and expressed approval for international intervention to "resolve this crisis."

Ongoing Safety Issues

For years, well-equipped criminal gangs have been conducting killings and kidnappings for money in remote areas of northern and central Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While no group has taken credit for the latest attacks, bandit gangs demanding ransom payments frequently attack schools in countryside locations where protection is inadequate.

These groups maintain bases in extensive woodland areas straddling several states in the west of Nigeria.

While these bandits have no ideological leanings and are mainly driven by monetary profit, their increasing alliance with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a major cause of concern for authorities and experts alike.