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Gunmen have kidnapped in excess of 300 pupils and educators in one of the biggest mass kidnappings in modern Nigerian experience, as reported by a Christian organization on the weekend.

Growing Emergency in School Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria happened just a short time after armed men stormed a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, seizing 25 girls.

Initial reports had stated 227 individuals were seized, but revised figures emerged after a comprehensive assessment determined that 303 students and 12 teachers had been abducted.

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

Official Response and Security Actions

State officials have announced that security departments and police are presently performing a comprehensive head count to determine the precise number of abducted people.

In reaction to the increasing security fears, the local authorities has ordered the shutting of every schools in the region, with neighboring states following similar precautionary measures.

Furthermore, the national education department has ordered the provisional closure of 47 residential high schools throughout the country.

President Bola Tinubu has called off overseas engagements, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on managing the crisis.

Latest Security Events

The educational institution abductions constitute the latest in a sequence of security incidents that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a place of worship in western Nigeria where assailants killed two individuals and seized dozens congregation members during a online broadcast service.

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

Historical Context

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the memory of the mass kidnapping of almost 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a ten years ago, with several of those girls still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Testimonies

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

"Students were weeping," the staff member said, describing her terror while looking for access to the section where the crying was most intense.

The local Catholic diocese stated that the "assailants acted violently and uninterrupted for almost three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Public Response and Fears

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, concerned guardians were picking up their children from educational institutions following the shutdown order.

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

She concluded that the "government is failing to act to address insecurity," and expressed approval for external assistance to "resolve this situation."

Continuing Security Issues

For years, well-equipped criminal gangs have been carrying out killings and abductions for money in remote areas of northern and central Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While nobody has taken credit for the latest attacks, bandit gangs seeking ransom payments frequently target schools in rural areas where protection is weak.

These groups maintain bases in vast forest areas straddling multiple states in western Nigeria.

While these bandits have no ideological leanings and are mainly motivated by financial gain, their growing cooperation with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a major source of concern for officials and experts alike.