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Gunmen have seized over 300 schoolchildren and staff in one of the largest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian history, as stated by a Christian organization on the weekend.

Escalating Crisis in School Institutions

The Friday morning assault on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria came just a short time after gunmen stormed a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 girls.

Initial accounts had suggested 227 individuals were seized, but revised figures were released after a comprehensive counting process determined that 303 pupils and 12 instructors had been kidnapped.

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

Government Response and Safety Actions

State authorities have stated that security departments and law enforcement are presently performing a thorough head count to determine the exact number of abducted individuals.

In reaction to the growing security fears, the state government has directed the shutting of every schools in the state, with neighboring states following similar preventive measures.

Furthermore, the national education ministry has directed the provisional shutting of 47 residential high schools throughout the country.

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

Recent Security Incidents

The educational institution kidnappings constitute the latest in a sequence of security incidents that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a church in western Nigeria where assailants killed two people and abducted dozens congregation members during a live-streamed service.

These events have taken place 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 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with several of those victims still missing.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a concerning recording circulated by Christian groups, a distraught employee described hearing the noise of motorcycles and vehicles before experiencing "violent banging" on multiple entrances of the school premises.

"Students were screaming," the staff member reported, recounting her terror while searching for keys to the area where the crying was most intense.

The local Catholic diocese stated that the "assailants operated aggressively and without interruption for almost three hours, searching dormitories."

Public Reaction and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, concerned parents were collecting their children from educational institutions following the shutdown directive.

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

She stated that the "government is failing to act to combat insecurity," and voiced support for international intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For a long time, heavily armed bandit groups have been conducting murders and kidnappings for ransom in rural areas of northern and central Nigeria, where state presence is minimal.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, bandit gangs seeking financial compensation often attack schools in rural areas where security is weak.

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

While these criminals have no political motives and are mainly motivated by monetary profit, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a major source of concern for officials and experts alike.