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Gunmen have abducted in excess of 300 pupils and educators in what is considered the most significant group abductions in recent Nigerian history, according to a Christian organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state happened just a short time after gunmen attacked a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 female students.

Earlier accounts had indicated 227 victims were seized, but updated numbers were released after a detailed verification exercise determined that 303 pupils and 12 teachers had been kidnapped.

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

Official Reaction and Safety Actions

State authorities have stated that security departments and police are currently performing a thorough assessment to determine the precise number of missing people.

In response to the growing safety concerns, the state government has ordered the closure of all schools in the state, with neighboring states following similar precautionary actions.

Additionally, the federal education ministry has directed the temporary shutting of 47 residential high schools throughout the country.

President Bola Tinubu has called off overseas commitments, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on managing the situation.

Latest Security Incidents

The educational institution abductions represent the most recent in a sequence of security breaches that have shaken the nation, including an attack on a church in the west of Nigeria where assailants killed two people and abducted numerous worshipers during a online broadcast service.

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

Past Background

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the memory of the mass kidnapping of almost 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a ten years ago, with some of those girls still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Testimonies

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

"Students were crying," the staff member stated, recounting her terror while looking for access to the area where the crying was loudest.

The regional Catholic authority stated that the "assailants operated aggressively and without interruption for almost three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Public Response 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 healthcare worker, expressed her shock at the magnitude of the kidnapping, asking how 300 children could be abducted at once.

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to address the security crisis," and expressed support for external assistance to "resolve this crisis."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For a long time, well-equipped bandit groups have been conducting murders and abductions for money in remote areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the latest incidents, criminal groups seeking financial compensation often target schools in countryside locations where protection is inadequate.

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

While these criminals have no ideological leanings and are primarily driven by financial gain, their increasing cooperation with extremist groups from the north-east has become a major cause of worry for authorities and experts alike.