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Armed attackers have seized in excess of 300 schoolchildren and staff in what is considered the largest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian times, as reported by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Institutions

The Friday morning attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria happened just a short time after gunmen attacked a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, seizing 25 young women.

Earlier accounts had stated 227 individuals were taken, but revised numbers surfaced after a thorough counting process confirmed that 303 students and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

The abducted children, ranging between eight and 18 years, account for nearly 50 percent of the school's overall student population of 629.

Government Response and Security Actions

Local authorities have announced that intelligence agencies and law enforcement are presently performing a comprehensive census to determine the precise number of abducted individuals.

In reaction to the growing safety concerns, the local authorities has ordered the closure of all schools in the state, with nearby states adopting comparable preventive actions.

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

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

Recent Security Events

The educational institution abductions represent the latest in a series of security breaches that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where gunmen shot dead two people and abducted numerous worshipers during a online broadcast service.

These events have occurred against the backdrop of international focus on Nigeria's safety situation.

Past Background

Nigeria remains scarred by the legacy of the large-scale kidnapping of nearly 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with some of those girls still missing.

Eyewitness Accounts

In a disturbing video clip circulated by Christian organizations, a distraught employee described hearing the noise of bikes and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on multiple entrances of the compound.

"Children were crying," the staff member stated, recounting her fear while looking for access to the area where the screaming was loudest.

The regional Catholic diocese stated that the "assailants operated aggressively and without interruption for almost three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Public Reaction and Fears

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, worried guardians were collecting their children from schools following the closure order.

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her shock at the scale of the abduction, questioning how 300 students could be abducted at once.

She concluded that the "government is not doing enough to address the security crisis," and voiced approval for external intervention to "resolve this crisis."

Ongoing Security Challenges

For a long time, heavily armed bandit groups have been carrying out killings and kidnappings for ransom in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is minimal.

While no group has taken credit for the latest incidents, criminal groups demanding ransom payments frequently attack schools in countryside locations where security is inadequate.

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

While these bandits have no ideological leanings and are primarily driven by monetary profit, their increasing alliance with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant cause of concern for officials and experts alike.