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Gunmen have kidnapped over 300 pupils and educators in what appears to be the most significant mass kidnappings in modern Nigerian history, as stated by a religious organization on the weekend.

Growing Emergency in School Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday attack on St Mary's co-educational school in Niger state occurred just a short time after armed men stormed a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 girls.

Earlier reports had stated 227 individuals were seized, but new numbers emerged after a detailed counting process confirmed that 303 students and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

The abducted pupils, ranging between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly 50 percent of the school's overall student body of 629.

Official Response and Security Actions

Local officials have stated that security departments and police are currently performing a thorough census to establish the exact number of missing people.

In reaction to the growing safety fears, the state government has mandated the shutting of all schools in the state, with neighboring states adopting similar preventive measures.

Furthermore, the national education department has ordered the temporary closure 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 managing the crisis.

Recent Security Incidents

The school abductions constitute the most recent in a series 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 individuals and seized numerous worshipers during a online broadcast service.

These incidents have occurred against the backdrop of international focus on Nigeria's security situation.

Past Context

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

Firsthand Accounts

In a disturbing video clip circulated by Christian organizations, a frightened employee described hearing the sounds of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "violent banging" on multiple entrances of the compound.

"Students were crying," the witness stated, describing her terror while looking for keys to the area where the screaming was loudest.

The local Catholic authority stated that the "attackers operated aggressively and uninterrupted for almost three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Citizen Response and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, worried guardians were collecting their children from schools following the closure directive.

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

She concluded that the "authorities is failing to act to curb the security crisis," and voiced support for international assistance to "salvage this situation."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For years, heavily armed criminal gangs have been carrying out murders and kidnappings for ransom in rural areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the latest incidents, bandit gangs demanding financial compensation frequently attack schools in countryside locations where security is inadequate.

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

While these criminals have no political motives and are mainly driven by monetary profit, their growing cooperation with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a major source of worry for authorities and security analysts alike.