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Armed attackers have kidnapped more than 300 pupils and educators in what appears to be the biggest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian experience, as reported by a religious organization on the weekend.

Growing Emergency in Educational Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday assault on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state occurred just days after armed men stormed a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 female students.

Initial accounts had stated 227 individuals were seized, but revised figures emerged after a detailed counting process determined that 303 pupils and 12 instructors had been abducted.

The kidnapped pupils, ranging between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly 50 percent of the school's overall student body of 629.

Official Reaction and Safety Actions

State officials have confirmed that security agencies and police are presently conducting a thorough assessment to verify the precise number of missing people.

In reaction to the growing safety fears, the local authorities has ordered the shutting of all schools in the state, with neighboring states following comparable precautionary measures.

Additionally, the federal education department has directed the provisional closure of 47 boarding secondary schools across the country.

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

Latest Security Incidents

The school abductions constitute the latest in a sequence of security breaches that have rocked the country, including an attack on a church in western Nigeria where assailants killed two individuals and seized dozens worshipers during a online broadcast service.

These incidents have occurred against the backdrop of international attention on Nigeria's safety situation.

Historical Background

Nigeria continues to be traumatized by the memory of the large-scale kidnapping of almost 300 female students 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 shared by religious organizations, a frightened school staff member described hearing the sounds of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

"Children were crying," the staff member stated, recounting her panic while searching for keys to the section where the crying was loudest.

The local Catholic diocese stated that the "attackers acted violently and without interruption for almost three hours, searching dormitories."

Citizen Response and Concerns

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

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

She concluded that the "government is failing to act to combat insecurity," and expressed approval for international assistance to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Security Challenges

For years, heavily armed bandit groups have been conducting killings and abductions for ransom in rural areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where state presence is minimal.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the recent attacks, bandit gangs demanding ransom payments frequently target schools in rural areas where security is inadequate.

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

While these bandits have no political motives and are mainly driven by monetary profit, their increasing cooperation with extremist groups from the north-east has become a major source of concern for authorities and security analysts alike.