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Armed attackers have abducted more than 300 schoolchildren and staff in what appears to be the largest collective seizures in modern Nigerian history, as stated by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in School Facilities

The Friday morning assault on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria occurred just days after gunmen stormed a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 female students.

Initial reports had suggested 227 individuals were seized, but updated figures emerged after a thorough verification exercise determined that 303 students and 12 instructors had been abducted.

The kidnapped children, aged between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly 50 percent of the school's overall student population of 629.

Official Reaction and Security Measures

Local authorities have announced that security agencies and law enforcement are presently performing a comprehensive head count to determine the precise number of abducted people.

In reaction to the growing safety fears, the local authorities has mandated the shutting of every schools in the region, with neighboring states adopting similar preventive steps.

Furthermore, the national education department has ordered the provisional shutting of 47 residential high schools across the country.

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

Latest Violent Events

The educational institution abductions represent the most recent in a series of security incidents that have rocked the country, including an assault on a church in the west of Nigeria where gunmen killed two individuals and abducted numerous congregation members during a online broadcast service.

These incidents have occurred against the background of international attention on Nigeria's safety situation.

Past Context

Nigeria remains traumatized by the legacy of the large-scale kidnapping of almost 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with some of those victims still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a concerning video clip shared by Christian groups, a upset employee described hearing the sounds of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on multiple entrances of the compound.

"Students were weeping," the staff member said, recounting her fear while looking for access to the section where the crying was most intense.

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

Public Response and Concerns

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried guardians were collecting their students from educational institutions following the closure order.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her disbelief at the magnitude of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 students could be abducted at once.

She concluded that the "authorities is failing to act to address insecurity," and voiced approval for external intervention to "resolve this situation."

Ongoing Security Issues

For a long time, heavily armed bandit groups have been carrying out murders and abductions for ransom in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where government control is limited.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the recent attacks, bandit gangs seeking ransom payments frequently attack schools in countryside locations where protection is weak.

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

Although these criminals have no ideological leanings and are mainly driven by monetary profit, their increasing cooperation with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a significant source of worry for officials and security analysts alike.