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Armed attackers have abducted over 300 students and teachers in what appears to be the biggest group abductions in modern Nigerian history, according to a religious organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Institutions

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

Initial reports had suggested 227 individuals were taken, but new numbers were released after a detailed assessment established that 303 students and 12 teachers had been kidnapped.

The taken students, ranging between eight and 18 years, represent nearly half of the school's total student body of 629.

Government Response and Security Measures

State officials have confirmed that security departments and law enforcement are presently conducting a thorough head count to determine the exact number of abducted individuals.

In response to the growing safety concerns, the local authorities has directed the shutting of all schools in the region, with neighboring states adopting comparable precautionary steps.

Additionally, the national education department has ordered the provisional closure of 47 residential high schools across the country.

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

Recent Security Events

The school kidnappings constitute the latest in a series of safety incidents that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a church in western Nigeria where gunmen killed two people and seized many worshipers during a live-streamed service.

These events have occurred against the backdrop of global attention on Nigeria's safety situation.

Past Context

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

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a concerning video clip circulated by religious groups, a distraught employee described hearing the noise of bikes and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

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

The regional Catholic diocese confirmed that the "attackers acted violently and without interruption for almost three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Public Reaction and Concerns

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

One mother, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, voiced her shock at the magnitude of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 students could be taken at once.

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to curb the security crisis," and voiced support for international assistance to "resolve this crisis."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For a long time, well-equipped criminal gangs have been conducting killings and abductions for ransom in remote areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where government control is limited.

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the recent incidents, criminal groups demanding financial compensation often attack schools in countryside locations where security is weak.

These groups maintain bases in extensive woodland areas straddling multiple states in western Nigeria.

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