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Gunmen have kidnapped over 300 pupils and educators in one of the most significant collective seizures in recent Nigerian times, as stated by a religious organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in School Facilities

The early Friday assault on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria came just a short time after armed men stormed a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, abducting 25 young women.

Initial reports had suggested 227 individuals were taken, but revised numbers surfaced after a thorough counting process established that 303 students and 12 teachers had been kidnapped.

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

Official Response and Safety Actions

Local officials have confirmed that security agencies and police are presently conducting a comprehensive head count to determine the exact number of abducted individuals.

In response to the growing safety concerns, the local authorities has mandated the closure of every schools in the state, with neighboring states following comparable preventive actions.

Additionally, the national education ministry has directed the temporary closure of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

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

Recent Violent Events

The school abductions represent the most recent in a series of safety incidents that have rocked the nation, including an attack on a place of worship in western Nigeria where gunmen shot dead two people and abducted many worshipers during a live-streamed service.

These events have occurred against the background of global attention on Nigeria's security situation.

Historical Context

Nigeria continues to be traumatized by the memory of the large-scale abduction of nearly 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with several of those victims still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a disturbing video clip circulated by religious groups, a distraught school staff member recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and cars before hearing "violent banging" on various entrances of the compound.

"Students were screaming," the staff member said, recounting her fear while searching for access to the section where the screaming was most intense.

The regional Catholic diocese stated that the "attackers acted aggressively and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, searching dormitories."

Citizen Response and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, concerned parents were picking up their children from schools following the closure order.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her shock at the magnitude of the abduction, questioning how 300 students could be abducted simultaneously.

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

Ongoing Security Challenges

For a long time, heavily armed criminal gangs have been conducting killings and kidnappings for money in remote areas of northern and central Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While nobody has taken credit for the recent attacks, bandit gangs seeking ransom payments often attack schools in countryside locations where protection is inadequate.

These groups maintain camps in extensive forest areas straddling several states in the west of Nigeria.

While these bandits have no political motives and are primarily motivated by monetary profit, their increasing alliance with jihadist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant source of concern for authorities and security analysts alike.