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Armed attackers have abducted in excess of 300 students and teachers in what appears to be the biggest mass kidnappings in modern Nigerian times, according to a Christian organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Facilities

The pre-dawn Friday assault on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state occurred just a short time after gunmen stormed a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, seizing 25 young women.

Earlier reports had indicated 227 victims were seized, but new numbers were released after a detailed counting process confirmed that 303 students and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

The abducted students, aged between eight and 18 years, account for nearly half of the school's overall student population of 629.

Government Reaction and Safety Actions

State authorities have announced that intelligence agencies and police are currently performing a comprehensive head count to establish the exact number of missing individuals.

In reaction to the increasing safety concerns, the state government has mandated the shutting of every schools in the region, with neighboring states adopting comparable precautionary steps.

Furthermore, the national education ministry has directed the temporary closure of 47 residential high schools across the country.

President Bola Tinubu has postponed international engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on handling the crisis.

Latest Violent Events

The school abductions constitute the most recent in a sequence of safety breaches that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a place of worship in western Nigeria where assailants shot dead two people and seized many congregation members during a live-streamed service.

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

Past Context

Nigeria remains traumatized by the legacy of the mass abduction of almost 300 female students by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with several of those victims still missing.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a concerning video clip circulated by Christian organizations, a frightened employee recounted hearing the sounds of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on various gates of the compound.

"Students were crying," the witness reported, describing her panic while looking for keys to the section where the crying was most intense.

The regional Catholic authority confirmed that the "assailants operated aggressively and uninterrupted for almost three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Public Reaction and Fears

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, concerned parents were picking up their children from schools following the shutdown order.

One parent, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, expressed her disbelief at the scale of the abduction, asking how 300 students could be abducted at once.

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to combat the security crisis," and expressed approval for international intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Security Challenges

For a long time, well-equipped criminal gangs have been carrying out murders and abductions for money in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is minimal.

While no group has taken credit for the recent incidents, criminal groups demanding ransom payments often target schools in countryside locations where protection is weak.

These groups maintain camps in extensive woodland areas spanning several states in western Nigeria.

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