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Gunmen have kidnapped in excess of 300 pupils and educators in one of the largest group abductions in recent Nigerian times, as stated by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Escalating Crisis in School Facilities

The early Friday assault on St Mary's co-educational school in Niger state occurred just a short time after armed men stormed a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, seizing 25 female students.

Earlier reports had indicated 227 victims were taken, but new figures surfaced after a comprehensive assessment established that 303 pupils and 12 educators had been abducted.

The taken pupils, ranging between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly half of the school's total student population of 629.

Government Reaction and Security Actions

State officials have stated that intelligence agencies and police are presently conducting a comprehensive head count to determine the precise number of abducted people.

In reaction to the increasing safety fears, the state government has directed the shutting of all schools in the region, with neighboring states adopting comparable precautionary actions.

Furthermore, the federal education ministry has ordered the provisional closure of 47 boarding secondary schools across the country.

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled international engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on addressing the emergency.

Latest Violent Events

The educational institution kidnappings represent the most recent in a sequence of safety incidents that have shaken the country, including an attack on a church in the west of Nigeria where gunmen shot dead two people and seized many congregation members during a online broadcast service.

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

Past Background

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the legacy of the large-scale abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with several of those girls still missing.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a concerning video clip circulated by Christian groups, a distraught worker recounted hearing the sounds of motorcycles and vehicles before experiencing "forceful banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

"Students were weeping," the witness reported, recounting her fear while looking for keys to the section where the screaming was most intense.

The regional Catholic diocese confirmed that the "attackers operated aggressively and without interruption for almost three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Citizen Reaction and Fears

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

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her shock at the magnitude of the abduction, questioning how 300 children could be taken at once.

She stated that the "authorities is not doing enough to address the security crisis," and voiced support for international assistance to "resolve this crisis."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For years, heavily armed criminal gangs have been conducting killings and kidnappings for money in rural areas of northern and central Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While no group has taken credit for the recent attacks, bandit gangs demanding ransom payments frequently target schools in rural areas where protection is inadequate.

These gangs maintain camps in extensive forest areas spanning multiple states in western Nigeria.

While these bandits have no political motives and are mainly 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.