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Armed attackers have kidnapped in excess of 300 students and teachers in what is considered the most significant collective seizures in recent Nigerian history, as stated by a religious organization on the weekend.

Growing Crisis in Educational Facilities

The early Friday assault on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria came just days after gunmen invaded a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, taking 25 female students.

Initial accounts had suggested 227 individuals were taken, but updated figures were released after a thorough assessment determined that 303 pupils and 12 instructors had been abducted.

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

Official Reaction and Security Actions

State authorities have stated that security agencies and police are presently conducting a comprehensive census to determine the precise number of abducted people.

In reaction to the increasing security fears, the state government has directed the shutting of all schools in the region, with nearby states adopting comparable precautionary actions.

Furthermore, the federal education ministry has ordered the provisional shutting of 47 boarding secondary schools across the country.

President Bola Tinubu has postponed international engagements, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on handling the emergency.

Latest Security Incidents

The school kidnappings represent the most recent in a sequence of safety incidents that have rocked the country, including an attack on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where assailants shot dead two individuals and seized dozens worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Historical Background

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the legacy of the mass abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with several of those victims still missing.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a concerning recording shared by Christian groups, a distraught employee described hearing the noise of bikes and vehicles before hearing "violent banging" on various entrances of the compound.

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

The regional Catholic diocese stated that the "attackers operated aggressively and uninterrupted for almost three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Public Response and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried parents were collecting their children from educational institutions following the shutdown directive.

One mother, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, voiced her disbelief at the magnitude of the abduction, questioning how 300 students could be taken at once.

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

Ongoing Safety Issues

For years, well-equipped bandit groups have been conducting murders and abductions for ransom in rural areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While nobody has taken credit for the latest attacks, criminal groups demanding ransom payments frequently attack schools in countryside locations where security is inadequate.

These gangs maintain camps in extensive woodland areas spanning multiple states in western Nigeria.

While these bandits have no political motives and are mainly driven by monetary profit, their increasing cooperation with extremist groups from the north-east has become a significant source of worry for authorities and experts alike.