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Gunmen have kidnapped over 300 pupils and educators in one of the largest group abductions in recent Nigerian times, according to a Christian organization on Saturday.

Growing Crisis in Educational Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state came just days after gunmen attacked a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 girls.

Initial reports had stated 227 individuals were taken, but new figures were released after a comprehensive verification exercise determined that 303 pupils and 12 teachers had been abducted.

The taken children, ranging between eight and 18 years, represent nearly 50 percent of the school's overall enrollment of 629.

Government Response and Security Measures

State authorities have stated that security departments and police are presently performing a thorough assessment to establish the precise number of abducted people.

In reaction to the growing safety fears, the state government has directed the closure of every schools in the state, with neighboring states following comparable preventive steps.

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

President Bola Tinubu has postponed international engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on addressing the emergency.

Recent Security Incidents

The educational institution abductions constitute the latest in a sequence of safety breaches that have rocked the country, including an attack on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where assailants killed two individuals and seized dozens congregation members during a live-streamed service.

These incidents have occurred against the background of global focus on Nigeria's security situation.

Historical Context

Nigeria remains scarred by the memory of the mass kidnapping of almost 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with several of those victims still missing.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a concerning recording circulated by Christian organizations, a distraught employee described hearing the noise of motorcycles and cars before hearing "forceful banging" on multiple entrances of the school premises.

"Children were weeping," the witness stated, describing her fear while looking for keys to the section where the screaming was loudest.

The regional Catholic diocese confirmed that the "assailants acted aggressively and uninterrupted for almost three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Public Reaction and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned guardians were picking up their students from educational institutions following the shutdown order.

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

She concluded that the "authorities is failing to act to address insecurity," and voiced support for external intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Continuing Security Challenges

For a long time, heavily armed bandit groups have been conducting murders and kidnappings for money in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While no group has taken credit for the recent attacks, criminal groups seeking ransom payments frequently attack schools in rural areas where protection is inadequate.

These gangs maintain bases in extensive woodland areas straddling several states in the west of Nigeria.

Although these bandits have no political motives and are mainly motivated by monetary profit, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a major cause of concern for authorities and experts alike.