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Gunmen have kidnapped over 300 schoolchildren and staff in one of the largest group abductions in modern Nigerian experience, as stated by a religious organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Facilities

The pre-dawn Friday attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria came just days after gunmen attacked a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, seizing 25 female students.

Earlier accounts had indicated 227 individuals were seized, but new numbers surfaced after a thorough assessment determined that 303 students and 12 educators had been abducted.

The taken students, aged between eight and 18 years, account for nearly 50 percent of the school's total enrollment of 629.

Government Response and Safety Actions

Local authorities have stated that intelligence agencies and police are currently performing a thorough census to determine the exact number of missing people.

In response to the increasing safety concerns, the local authorities has ordered the closure of every schools in the region, with neighboring states following similar precautionary actions.

Furthermore, the federal education department has directed the provisional shutting of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

President Bola Tinubu has called off overseas commitments, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on handling the emergency.

Latest Security Incidents

The educational institution abductions represent the latest in a series of safety incidents that have rocked the nation, including an assault on a church in western Nigeria where gunmen shot dead two people and abducted many worshipers during a online broadcast service.

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

Historical Background

Nigeria remains scarred by the memory of the large-scale abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by extremist 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 circulated by religious groups, a distraught employee recounted hearing the noise of bikes and cars before experiencing "violent banging" on various gates of the school premises.

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

The local Catholic authority stated that the "assailants acted violently and without interruption for nearly three hours, moving through dormitories."

Citizen Response and Fears

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

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

She stated that the "government is not doing enough to combat the security crisis," and voiced approval for external intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Security Issues

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

While nobody has taken credit for the recent incidents, bandit gangs seeking ransom payments often target schools in rural areas where security is weak.

These gangs maintain bases in extensive forest areas straddling multiple states in western Nigeria.

While these criminals have no ideological leanings and are primarily driven by financial gain, their increasing cooperation with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a major cause of worry for officials and experts alike.