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Armed attackers have seized over 300 schoolchildren and staff in one of the most significant mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian history, as stated by a religious organization on the weekend.

Growing Crisis in School Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday raid on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria happened just days after armed men stormed a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 female students.

Earlier accounts had indicated 227 individuals were taken, but updated figures surfaced after a detailed verification exercise confirmed that 303 pupils and 12 instructors had been abducted.

The taken children, ranging between eight and 18 years, account for nearly half of the school's total student body of 629.

Official Reaction and Security Measures

State authorities have announced that intelligence departments and police are currently performing a comprehensive census to determine the exact number of abducted individuals.

In response to the growing safety concerns, the state government has mandated the shutting of every schools in the region, with nearby states adopting similar precautionary actions.

Additionally, the federal education ministry has ordered the temporary closure of 47 residential high schools across the country.

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

Recent Violent Events

The educational institution abductions represent the latest in a series of security breaches that have rocked the country, including an attack on a church in western Nigeria where assailants shot dead two people and seized numerous worshipers during a live-streamed service.

These incidents have taken place against the backdrop of global focus on Nigeria's security situation.

Historical Background

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the legacy of the mass abduction of almost 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with several of those girls still missing.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a disturbing video clip circulated by Christian groups, a distraught employee described hearing the noise of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "violent banging" on various entrances of the compound.

"Children were screaming," the witness said, recounting her terror while looking for access to the section where the crying was loudest.

The regional Catholic authority confirmed that the "assailants acted aggressively and without interruption for nearly three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Citizen Response and Concerns

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

One parent, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, voiced her shock at the scale of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 students could be abducted at once.

She concluded that the "authorities is not doing enough to curb insecurity," and expressed approval for external intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Security Challenges

For a long time, well-equipped bandit groups have been conducting murders and kidnappings for money in rural areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While no group has taken credit for the latest incidents, criminal groups seeking financial compensation frequently attack schools in rural areas where protection is inadequate.

These gangs maintain bases in vast woodland areas straddling multiple states in western Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no political motives and are primarily motivated by monetary profit, their growing cooperation with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a significant cause of concern for officials and security analysts alike.