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Gunmen have kidnapped over 300 pupils and educators in what appears to be the biggest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian experience, as stated by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Escalating Crisis in Educational Facilities

The early Friday raid on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria came just days after gunmen invaded a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 girls.

Initial reports had suggested 227 victims were seized, but new figures emerged after a detailed counting process confirmed that 303 pupils and 12 instructors had been kidnapped.

The kidnapped students, aged between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly 50 percent of the school's total student body of 629.

Official Reaction and Security Actions

Local officials have announced that intelligence agencies and law enforcement are currently conducting a comprehensive assessment to establish the precise number of abducted individuals.

In reaction to the increasing safety concerns, the state government has mandated the shutting of all schools in the state, with neighboring states following similar preventive steps.

Furthermore, the national education ministry has ordered the temporary closure of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

President Bola Tinubu has postponed overseas commitments, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on handling the situation.

Recent Security Events

The school abductions constitute the most recent in a series of security incidents that have shaken the nation, including an attack on a church in the west of Nigeria where assailants shot dead two individuals and seized dozens worshipers during a live-streamed service.

These events have taken place against the backdrop of global focus on Nigeria's safety situation.

Past Background

Nigeria remains scarred by the legacy of the large-scale abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a ten years ago, with several of those victims still missing.

Firsthand Accounts

In a disturbing recording shared by Christian organizations, a upset employee recounted hearing the sounds of bikes and vehicles before hearing "violent banging" on multiple gates of the compound.

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

The regional Catholic authority stated that the "attackers operated aggressively and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Public Reaction and Fears

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned guardians were picking up their children from schools following the shutdown directive.

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

She concluded that the "government is not doing enough to combat the security crisis," and expressed support for international intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For a long time, well-equipped bandit groups have been carrying out killings and kidnappings for ransom in rural areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While no group has taken credit for the recent incidents, bandit gangs demanding financial compensation frequently target schools in countryside locations where security is inadequate.

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

Although these criminals have no political motives and are mainly motivated by monetary profit, their growing alliance with jihadist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant cause of concern for authorities and security analysts alike.