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Gunmen have kidnapped over 300 students and teachers in one of the most significant collective seizures in recent Nigerian times, as stated by a religious organization on the weekend.

Growing Crisis in Educational Institutions

The Friday morning raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria happened just days after armed men attacked a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, abducting 25 young women.

Initial accounts had suggested 227 individuals were taken, but revised figures surfaced after a thorough counting process confirmed that 303 students and 12 teachers had been abducted.

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

Official Response and Security Actions

Local authorities have announced that intelligence agencies and law enforcement are presently conducting a comprehensive head count to verify the precise number of missing people.

In response to the increasing security concerns, the local authorities has mandated the shutting of every schools in the region, with nearby states adopting comparable preventive steps.

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

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled overseas commitments, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on addressing the situation.

Recent Violent Events

The school kidnappings constitute the latest in a sequence of safety incidents that have shaken the nation, including an attack on a place of worship in western Nigeria where assailants killed two people and seized numerous worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Past Context

Nigeria remains scarred by the legacy of the large-scale abduction of nearly 300 female students by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with some of those victims still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a concerning recording shared by religious organizations, a upset employee recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and vehicles before experiencing "violent banging" on multiple gates of the compound.

"Students were screaming," the staff member reported, describing her terror while searching for access to the area where the crying was loudest.

The regional Catholic diocese confirmed that the "attackers acted violently and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, moving through dormitories."

Public Response and Fears

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned parents were picking up their students from educational institutions following the closure directive.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her shock at the magnitude of the kidnapping, asking how 300 children could be taken simultaneously.

She stated that the "government is failing to act to address the security crisis," and voiced approval for external assistance to "salvage this situation."

Ongoing Security Issues

For a long time, well-equipped criminal gangs have been conducting murders and abductions for money in rural areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, criminal groups demanding ransom payments frequently attack schools in rural areas where protection is inadequate.

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

Although these criminals have no political motives and are mainly driven by monetary profit, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a major source of concern for authorities and security analysts alike.