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Gunmen have kidnapped in excess of 300 schoolchildren and staff in what is considered the biggest collective seizures in recent Nigerian experience, as stated by a Christian organization on the weekend.

Growing Crisis in School Institutions

The early Friday raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria occurred just days after gunmen attacked a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 young women.

Earlier accounts had indicated 227 individuals were taken, but updated numbers surfaced after a thorough verification exercise determined that 303 students and 12 instructors had been abducted.

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

Government Response and Safety Measures

State officials have announced that security departments and law enforcement are currently conducting a comprehensive census to verify the precise number of missing individuals.

In reaction to the growing security concerns, the state government has mandated the closure of every schools in the state, with neighboring states following similar precautionary actions.

Additionally, the national education ministry has directed the provisional shutting of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

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

Latest Violent Events

The school abductions constitute the most recent in a sequence of security incidents that have rocked the country, including an attack on a church in the west of Nigeria where assailants shot dead two people and seized dozens worshipers during a online broadcast service.

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

Historical Background

Nigeria remains traumatized by the memory of the large-scale kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with several of those girls still missing.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a disturbing recording circulated by religious organizations, a frightened worker described hearing the noise of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on various gates of the school premises.

"Children were screaming," the witness said, describing her fear while searching for access to the area where the screaming was most intense.

The regional Catholic diocese stated that the "attackers acted violently and without interruption for almost three hours, searching dormitories."

Public Reaction and Fears

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried guardians were picking up their students from schools following the shutdown directive.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her shock at the scale of the kidnapping, asking how 300 students could be abducted simultaneously.

She stated that the "government is failing to act to combat the security crisis," and expressed support for external assistance to "resolve this crisis."

Ongoing Safety Challenges

For years, heavily armed bandit groups 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 recent incidents, bandit gangs seeking ransom payments frequently attack schools in countryside locations where protection is weak.

These groups maintain camps in extensive forest areas straddling multiple states in the west of Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no ideological leanings and are mainly driven by financial gain, their growing alliance with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a major cause of concern for authorities and security analysts alike.