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Armed attackers have seized in excess of 300 students and teachers in what is considered the biggest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian times, as stated by a religious organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in School Facilities

The Friday morning assault on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state came just days after gunmen invaded a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls.

Initial accounts had suggested 227 victims were taken, but revised numbers were released after a comprehensive assessment confirmed that 303 students and 12 instructors had been kidnapped.

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

Government Reaction and Safety Measures

Local officials have stated that intelligence agencies and police are currently performing a thorough assessment to establish the precise number of abducted people.

In response to the growing safety concerns, the local authorities has directed the closure of every schools in the region, with neighboring states adopting comparable preventive measures.

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

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

Recent Violent Incidents

The school kidnappings represent the most recent in a sequence of safety incidents that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a church in the west of Nigeria where gunmen killed two individuals and abducted many congregation members during a online broadcast service.

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

Historical Context

Nigeria continues to be traumatized by the legacy of the mass kidnapping of almost 300 schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with several of those girls still missing.

Eyewitness Accounts

In a disturbing recording shared by religious organizations, a distraught school staff member recounted hearing the sounds of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on various gates of the compound.

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

The regional Catholic authority confirmed that the "attackers acted aggressively and without interruption for nearly three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Citizen Reaction 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 mother, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, voiced her disbelief at the magnitude of the kidnapping, asking how 300 students could be taken at once.

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to curb insecurity," and expressed support for international intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Continuing Security Challenges

For a long time, heavily armed criminal gangs have been carrying out killings and abductions for money in remote areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, criminal groups seeking financial compensation often attack schools in rural areas where protection is inadequate.

These gangs maintain bases in extensive forest areas straddling several states in western Nigeria.

Although these bandits have no political motives and are primarily motivated by monetary profit, their growing cooperation with jihadist groups from the northeastern region has become a major cause of concern for authorities and experts alike.