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Armed attackers have abducted in excess of 300 pupils and educators in what appears to be the biggest group abductions in recent Nigerian times, as stated by a religious organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in School Facilities

The pre-dawn Friday assault on St Mary's co-educational school in Niger state happened just a short time after gunmen invaded a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls.

Initial reports had indicated 227 victims were seized, but new numbers emerged after a thorough verification exercise established that 303 students and 12 teachers had been kidnapped.

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

Official Reaction and Safety Actions

Local authorities have announced that security departments and police are presently performing a thorough head count to establish the exact number of abducted individuals.

In response to the growing safety fears, the state government has directed the closure of every schools in the region, with nearby states adopting comparable preventive actions.

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

President Bola Tinubu has called off overseas engagements, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on addressing the situation.

Latest Security Events

The educational institution kidnappings constitute the most recent in a series of security breaches that have shaken the country, including an attack on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where assailants shot dead two individuals and seized many worshipers during a online broadcast service.

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

Historical Context

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

Firsthand Accounts

In a disturbing recording circulated by Christian groups, a upset worker recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and cars before hearing "forceful banging" on various gates of the compound.

"Students were screaming," the witness said, recounting her panic while looking for keys to the area where the crying was loudest.

The local Catholic diocese stated that the "assailants acted violently and without interruption for nearly three hours, moving through dormitories."

Public Reaction and Concerns

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

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her shock at the magnitude of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 children could be abducted simultaneously.

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to combat insecurity," and voiced approval for international intervention to "resolve this situation."

Ongoing Safety Issues

For years, well-equipped criminal gangs have been conducting killings and kidnappings for ransom in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While no group has taken credit for the recent attacks, criminal groups demanding financial compensation frequently target schools in rural areas where security is inadequate.

These groups maintain camps in vast forest areas spanning several states in western Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no ideological leanings and are mainly driven by monetary profit, their increasing cooperation with jihadist groups from the northeastern region has become a major cause of concern for authorities and experts alike.