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Armed attackers have seized more than 300 schoolchildren and staff in what is considered the largest collective seizures in recent Nigerian history, as reported by a Christian organization on the weekend.

Growing Crisis in School Facilities

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

Earlier accounts had suggested 227 victims were taken, but new figures emerged after a detailed assessment established that 303 students and 12 educators had been abducted.

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

Government Reaction and Safety Measures

Local officials have announced that intelligence agencies and police are currently conducting a thorough census to establish the precise number of abducted people.

In response to the increasing safety concerns, the state government has directed the closure of all schools in the state, with nearby states adopting similar preventive measures.

Furthermore, the national education department has ordered the provisional shutting of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

President Bola Tinubu has called off overseas engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on managing the crisis.

Latest Violent Events

The educational institution kidnappings constitute the latest in a sequence of safety incidents that have shaken the country, including an attack on a church in western Nigeria where gunmen killed two people and seized dozens worshipers during a live-streamed service.

These incidents have occurred against the backdrop of international focus on Nigeria's safety situation.

Past Context

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the legacy of the large-scale abduction of almost 300 female students by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with some of those victims still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a disturbing video clip circulated by religious groups, a upset school staff member recounted hearing the sounds of motorcycles and cars before experiencing "forceful banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

"Children were weeping," the witness stated, recounting her terror while looking for access to the area where the crying was loudest.

The local Catholic diocese confirmed that the "attackers operated aggressively and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Public Response and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried parents were collecting their children from schools following the shutdown order.

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her shock at the magnitude of the abduction, asking how 300 students could be abducted simultaneously.

She concluded that the "government is not doing enough to curb the security crisis," and voiced approval for external intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Continuing Security Issues

For a long time, well-equipped bandit groups have been conducting murders and abductions for money in remote areas of northern and central Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While nobody has taken credit for the recent incidents, bandit gangs demanding financial compensation often target schools in rural areas where security is weak.

These groups maintain bases in extensive forest areas spanning multiple states in the west of Nigeria.

While these bandits have no ideological leanings and are primarily motivated by monetary profit, their growing cooperation with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant cause of concern for officials and experts alike.