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Armed attackers have abducted more than 300 schoolchildren and staff in what appears to be the most significant mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian times, as reported by a religious organization on Saturday.

Growing Emergency in Educational Facilities

The Friday morning attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria came just a short time after gunmen stormed a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 girls.

Initial reports had suggested 227 victims were seized, but updated figures emerged after a detailed counting process established that 303 students and 12 educators had been abducted.

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

Government Response and Security Measures

State officials have stated that intelligence departments and police are presently performing a comprehensive census to verify the precise number of abducted people.

In reaction to the increasing security concerns, the local authorities has mandated the shutting of every schools in the state, with nearby states adopting similar precautionary steps.

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

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled overseas commitments, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on handling the emergency.

Recent Security Events

The school kidnappings represent the most recent in a series of security breaches that have rocked the country, including an attack on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where gunmen killed two people and abducted numerous congregation members during a live-streamed service.

These incidents have occurred against the backdrop of global attention on Nigeria's security situation.

Past Context

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the memory of the mass abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a ten years ago, with some of those girls still unaccounted for.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a concerning video clip shared by religious groups, a distraught worker described hearing the sounds of bikes and cars before experiencing "forceful banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

"Children were screaming," the staff member stated, describing her terror while searching for access 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, searching sleeping quarters."

Citizen Response and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned guardians were collecting their children from educational institutions following the shutdown order.

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

She concluded that the "authorities is not doing enough to address the security crisis," and voiced support for external assistance to "salvage this situation."

Continuing Security Issues

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

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the recent incidents, bandit gangs seeking ransom payments often target schools in countryside locations where security is weak.

These groups maintain camps in vast woodland areas spanning multiple states in the west of Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no ideological leanings and are primarily motivated by financial gain, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant source of concern for authorities and experts alike.