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Armed attackers have seized over 300 students and teachers in one of the largest group abductions in recent Nigerian experience, as reported by a Christian organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state occurred just days after armed men invaded a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, taking 25 young women.

Earlier accounts had stated 227 victims were seized, but revised figures were released after a thorough assessment confirmed that 303 pupils and 12 educators had been abducted.

The taken pupils, aged between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly 50 percent of the school's overall student body of 629.

Government Reaction and Security Actions

Local officials have announced that intelligence departments and law enforcement are currently conducting a thorough head count to establish the precise number of abducted people.

In reaction to the increasing security fears, the local authorities has ordered the shutting of all schools in the state, with nearby states following similar preventive steps.

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

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled international commitments, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on managing the crisis.

Recent Violent Incidents

The educational institution abductions constitute the latest in a series of safety breaches that have rocked the nation, including an assault on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where gunmen shot dead two individuals and abducted many worshipers during a online broadcast service.

These events have taken place against the background of international attention on Nigeria's security situation.

Past Context

Nigeria remains traumatized by the legacy of the large-scale abduction of nearly 300 female students by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with some of those victims still missing.

Eyewitness Accounts

In a concerning recording shared by Christian organizations, a upset worker described hearing the sounds of bikes and cars before experiencing "forceful banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

"Children were crying," the witness reported, describing her panic while searching for keys to the section where the crying was loudest.

The regional Catholic diocese confirmed that the "assailants operated violently and uninterrupted for almost three hours, searching dormitories."

Public Reaction and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, concerned parents were collecting their children from educational institutions following the closure directive.

One mother, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, expressed her disbelief at the scale of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 students could be taken at once.

She stated that the "authorities is not doing enough to curb the security crisis," and expressed support for external intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For years, heavily armed bandit groups have been carrying out murders and kidnappings for ransom in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While nobody has taken credit for the latest attacks, criminal groups demanding financial compensation often attack schools in countryside locations where security is inadequate.

These gangs maintain camps in vast forest areas straddling several states in the west of Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no ideological leanings and are primarily driven by monetary profit, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant cause of worry for authorities and experts alike.