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Armed attackers have seized over 300 schoolchildren and staff in what appears to be the biggest group abductions in recent Nigerian history, according to a religious organization on the weekend.

Growing Crisis in Educational Facilities

The early Friday attack on St Mary's co-educational school in Niger state occurred just a short time after gunmen invaded a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 female students.

Earlier accounts had indicated 227 individuals were taken, but revised numbers emerged after a detailed counting process determined that 303 pupils and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

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

Government Response and Safety Measures

State authorities have stated that security departments and police are presently performing a thorough census to verify the precise number of abducted individuals.

In reaction to the increasing safety fears, the local authorities has directed the shutting of all schools in the region, with neighboring states following comparable precautionary actions.

Additionally, the national education department has ordered the provisional shutting of 47 residential high schools across the country.

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

Recent Violent Incidents

The school kidnappings constitute the latest in a series of security incidents that have shaken the country, including an assault on a place of worship in western Nigeria where assailants killed two individuals and abducted dozens congregation members during a online broadcast service.

These events have occurred against the backdrop of international focus on Nigeria's security situation.

Historical Context

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the memory of the mass kidnapping of nearly 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with some of those victims still missing.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a disturbing video clip circulated by religious groups, a distraught school staff member described hearing the sounds of bikes and vehicles before hearing "violent banging" on various gates of the compound.

"Students were screaming," the witness said, recounting her terror while looking for keys to the area where the screaming was loudest.

The local Catholic diocese confirmed that the "attackers operated violently and without interruption for nearly three hours, searching dormitories."

Public Response and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned parents were collecting their students from schools following the closure directive.

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her disbelief at the magnitude of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 children could be taken at once.

She stated that the "government is not doing enough to curb insecurity," and expressed approval for external intervention to "salvage this situation."

Continuing Security Challenges

For years, heavily armed criminal gangs have been carrying out killings and abductions for money in rural areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While no group has taken credit for the recent incidents, bandit gangs demanding financial compensation often target schools in countryside locations where protection is inadequate.

These gangs maintain bases in extensive woodland areas straddling several states in the west of Nigeria.

While these bandits have no political motives and are mainly motivated by financial gain, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the north-east has become a major source of worry for officials and security analysts alike.