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Gunmen have seized over 300 students and teachers in what is considered the most significant mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian experience, as stated by a religious organization on the weekend.

Growing Emergency in Educational Facilities

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

Earlier accounts had stated 227 individuals were seized, but new numbers surfaced after a detailed assessment confirmed that 303 pupils and 12 instructors had been abducted.

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

Government Response and Security Measures

State officials have announced that intelligence agencies and law enforcement are presently performing a thorough assessment to determine the exact number of missing individuals.

In response to the increasing security fears, the local authorities has directed the closure of every schools in the state, with neighboring states adopting comparable preventive steps.

Furthermore, the national education ministry has directed the provisional shutting of 47 residential high schools across the country.

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

Recent Security Events

The educational institution kidnappings constitute the most recent in a series of security incidents that have rocked the country, including an attack on a church in western Nigeria where gunmen killed two people and abducted dozens worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Past Background

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 decade ago, with some of those victims still missing.

Firsthand Accounts

In a disturbing video clip circulated by Christian organizations, a upset employee recounted hearing the noise of bikes and cars before hearing "violent banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

"Children were crying," the witness reported, describing her fear while searching for keys to the section where the screaming was most intense.

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

Public Reaction and Fears

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

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

She concluded that the "authorities is failing to act to address insecurity," and voiced approval for international intervention to "resolve this situation."

Continuing Security Challenges

For a long time, heavily armed criminal gangs have been carrying out killings and abductions for money in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the recent incidents, bandit gangs demanding ransom payments often attack schools in countryside locations where protection is inadequate.

These groups maintain camps in extensive forest areas spanning several states in western Nigeria.

While these criminals have no political motives and are primarily driven by financial gain, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the north-east has become a significant source of worry for authorities and security analysts alike.