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Gunmen have kidnapped more than 300 students and teachers in what appears to be the largest group abductions in modern Nigerian times, as stated by a Christian organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state occurred just days after armed men attacked a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, taking 25 young women.

Initial accounts had indicated 227 victims were taken, but new numbers surfaced after a detailed verification exercise established that 303 pupils and 12 teachers had been kidnapped.

The abducted students, aged between eight and 18 years, represent nearly 50 percent of the school's total student population of 629.

Official Response and Security Measures

Local officials have stated that security agencies and law enforcement are presently conducting a thorough head count to verify the exact number of missing individuals.

In reaction to the growing safety concerns, the local authorities has mandated the closure of every schools in the region, with nearby states following comparable preventive measures.

Additionally, the national education department has ordered the temporary closure of 47 boarding secondary schools across the country.

President Bola Tinubu has postponed international commitments, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on handling the situation.

Recent Security Incidents

The educational institution kidnappings constitute the latest in a series of security breaches that have rocked the nation, including an attack on a church in western Nigeria where assailants shot dead two people and seized numerous congregation members during a online broadcast service.

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

Past Background

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the memory of the large-scale abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with some of those girls still missing.

Eyewitness Accounts

In a concerning video clip circulated by religious organizations, a frightened employee described hearing the sounds of bikes and vehicles before experiencing "forceful banging" on multiple gates of the compound.

"Students were screaming," the staff member reported, describing her terror while searching for access to the section where the screaming was loudest.

The local Catholic diocese confirmed that the "assailants acted aggressively and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, searching dormitories."

Citizen Response and Concerns

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

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

She stated that the "government is failing to act to combat the security crisis," and voiced approval for international assistance to "resolve this situation."

Continuing Security Challenges

For a long time, well-equipped criminal gangs have been carrying out murders and kidnappings for money in rural areas of northern and central Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While nobody has taken credit for the recent attacks, bandit gangs demanding ransom payments often attack schools in rural areas where security is weak.

These gangs maintain camps in vast forest areas straddling several states in western Nigeria.

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