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Armed attackers have kidnapped in excess of 300 students and teachers in one of the biggest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian experience, as stated by a religious organization on the weekend.

Escalating Crisis in Educational Facilities

The early Friday assault on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state occurred just a short time after gunmen stormed a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 girls.

Earlier reports had indicated 227 victims were seized, but new numbers surfaced after a detailed assessment determined that 303 students and 12 teachers had been kidnapped.

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

Official Reaction and Safety Actions

State authorities have announced that intelligence agencies and police are presently performing a thorough head count to verify the precise number of abducted people.

In reaction to the increasing safety concerns, the local authorities has ordered the shutting of every schools in the state, with neighboring states following similar preventive steps.

Furthermore, the federal education department has ordered the temporary closure of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

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

Latest Security Events

The educational institution kidnappings constitute the latest in a series of security breaches that have rocked the nation, including an assault on a place of worship in western Nigeria where assailants killed two people and abducted many congregation members during a live-streamed service.

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

Historical Background

Nigeria remains traumatized by the memory of the large-scale abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with several of those victims still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a disturbing recording circulated by Christian groups, a upset employee recounted hearing the noise of bikes and cars before hearing "violent banging" on various gates of the compound.

"Students were screaming," the witness said, describing her panic while searching for keys to the section where the screaming was loudest.

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

Citizen Reaction and Concerns

At the same time, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, concerned guardians were picking up their students from educational institutions following the shutdown directive.

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her shock at the scale of the abduction, asking how 300 students could be taken simultaneously.

She concluded that the "authorities is failing to act to curb insecurity," and expressed approval for international intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Continuing Security Challenges

For years, heavily armed bandit groups have been carrying out killings and kidnappings for ransom in rural areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While nobody has taken credit for the recent incidents, criminal groups demanding ransom payments frequently target schools in countryside locations where protection is weak.

These gangs maintain bases in extensive forest areas straddling several states in western Nigeria.

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