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Gunmen have abducted over 300 schoolchildren and staff in what is considered the biggest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian times, according to a religious organization on the weekend.

Growing Emergency in Educational Facilities

The Friday morning attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria came just days after gunmen attacked a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 female students.

Initial reports had suggested 227 victims were taken, but updated numbers were released after a thorough assessment determined that 303 students and 12 educators had been abducted.

The abducted pupils, aged between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly half of the school's total student body of 629.

Official Reaction and Safety Actions

Local authorities have announced that security agencies and police are currently conducting a thorough head count to determine the exact number of abducted people.

In response to the growing security fears, the state government has ordered the shutting of all schools in the region, with neighboring states following similar precautionary measures.

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

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

Latest Security Events

The educational institution abductions constitute the latest in a sequence of safety breaches that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where gunmen killed two individuals and abducted numerous congregation members during a live-streamed service.

These incidents have occurred against the background of global focus on Nigeria's safety situation.

Past Context

Nigeria remains traumatized by the memory of the mass kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with several of those victims still unaccounted for.

Firsthand Accounts

In a concerning recording circulated by religious groups, a frightened employee recounted hearing the sounds of bikes and cars before hearing "forceful banging" on multiple entrances of the compound.

"Children were crying," the staff member reported, describing her panic while looking for access to the area where the screaming was loudest.

The local Catholic authority stated that the "attackers operated violently and uninterrupted for almost three hours, searching dormitories."

Public Response and Fears

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried guardians were picking up their students from educational institutions following the shutdown order.

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

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to combat insecurity," and voiced approval for international intervention to "resolve this crisis."

Continuing Safety Challenges

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

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the latest incidents, criminal groups seeking ransom payments frequently target schools in countryside locations where protection is weak.

These gangs maintain bases in extensive forest areas straddling multiple states in the west of Nigeria.

Although these bandits have no ideological leanings and are primarily motivated by monetary profit, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the north-east has become a significant source of worry for authorities and experts alike.