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Armed attackers have abducted in excess of 300 students and teachers in what appears to be the biggest collective seizures in recent Nigerian experience, as stated by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Growing Crisis in Educational Institutions

The Friday morning attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state came just days after gunmen stormed a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, abducting 25 young women.

Initial accounts had suggested 227 victims were seized, but new figures surfaced after a comprehensive counting process determined that 303 students and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

The kidnapped children, aged between eight and 18 years, account for nearly half of the school's overall student population of 629.

Government Response and Safety Actions

Local officials have announced that intelligence agencies and law enforcement are presently performing a thorough assessment to verify the precise number of missing individuals.

In reaction to the increasing security concerns, the state government has mandated the shutting of every schools in the region, with neighboring states adopting similar preventive actions.

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

President Bola Tinubu has called off international commitments, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on handling the emergency.

Latest Security Incidents

The educational institution abductions represent the most recent in a series of safety breaches that have rocked the country, including an assault on a church in western Nigeria where assailants shot dead two individuals and seized dozens congregation members during a live-streamed service.

These events have taken place against the background of global focus on Nigeria's safety situation.

Past Background

Nigeria continues to be traumatized by the memory of the large-scale kidnapping of nearly 300 female students by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with some of those girls still missing.

Firsthand Accounts

In a disturbing recording shared by Christian organizations, a upset school staff member recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on various gates of the school premises.

"Children were screaming," the staff member said, describing her panic while looking for access to the section where the screaming was most intense.

The local Catholic diocese confirmed that the "assailants operated violently and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, moving through dormitories."

Citizen Reaction and Concerns

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned parents were picking up their children from educational institutions following the shutdown directive.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her shock at the magnitude of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 children could be abducted at once.

She concluded that the "authorities is not doing enough to curb insecurity," and voiced support for external assistance to "resolve this situation."

Continuing 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 government control is minimal.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the recent incidents, criminal groups demanding financial compensation frequently attack schools in countryside locations where protection is inadequate.

These groups maintain camps in vast forest areas straddling several states in the west of Nigeria.

While these bandits have no ideological leanings and are primarily driven by monetary profit, their increasing cooperation with jihadist groups from the northeastern region has become a major source of concern for officials and experts alike.