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Gunmen have abducted over 300 students and teachers in what is considered the biggest group abductions in recent Nigerian times, as stated by a Christian organization on the weekend.

Growing Crisis in Educational Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday assault on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria happened just a short time after gunmen stormed a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 girls.

Earlier accounts had indicated 227 victims were taken, but new figures were released after a comprehensive counting process established that 303 pupils and 12 teachers had been kidnapped.

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

Government Response and Safety Actions

State officials have stated that security departments and law enforcement are presently performing a thorough assessment to establish the exact number of missing individuals.

In response to the growing security fears, the local authorities has directed the shutting of every schools in the state, with neighboring states following comparable precautionary actions.

Additionally, the national education department has directed the provisional shutting of 47 boarding secondary schools across the country.

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled overseas engagements, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on addressing the situation.

Latest Security Incidents

The educational institution kidnappings represent the latest in a sequence of security breaches that have shaken the country, including an attack on a place of worship in western Nigeria where gunmen shot dead two individuals and abducted numerous worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Past Context

Nigeria remains scarred by the legacy of the large-scale abduction of nearly 300 female students by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with several of those victims still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a disturbing video clip circulated by religious groups, a distraught worker recounted hearing the noise of bikes and vehicles before experiencing "forceful banging" on multiple entrances of the compound.

"Students were weeping," the staff member said, describing her panic while searching for keys to the section where the crying was most intense.

The regional Catholic diocese stated that the "attackers acted aggressively and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Public Reaction and Fears

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

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her disbelief at the scale of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 students could be abducted simultaneously.

She concluded that the "authorities is failing to act to address the security crisis," and voiced support for international assistance to "salvage this situation."

Ongoing Safety Challenges

For years, well-equipped criminal gangs have been carrying out murders and abductions for ransom in remote areas of northern and central Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the recent incidents, bandit gangs demanding ransom payments frequently target schools in rural areas where security is inadequate.

These gangs maintain camps in vast forest areas spanning 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 jihadist groups from the north-east has become a major source of concern for officials and experts alike.