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Armed attackers have kidnapped in excess of 300 pupils and educators in one of the largest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian history, according to a religious organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Facilities

The Friday morning assault on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria occurred just days after armed men stormed a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 young women.

Earlier accounts had suggested 227 victims were seized, but revised numbers emerged after a thorough verification exercise confirmed that 303 students and 12 instructors had been abducted.

The kidnapped children, aged between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly half of the school's overall student population of 629.

Official Reaction and Security Actions

Local authorities have confirmed that security departments and law enforcement are presently performing a comprehensive head count to determine the precise number of abducted people.

In response to the increasing safety fears, the state government has ordered the shutting of all schools in the region, with neighboring states adopting similar preventive measures.

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

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled international engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on managing the crisis.

Latest Violent Events

The educational institution kidnappings constitute the most recent in a sequence of safety breaches that have rocked the country, including an attack on a church in western Nigeria where assailants shot dead two people and seized numerous congregation members during a online broadcast service.

These incidents have occurred against the background of international focus on Nigeria's safety situation.

Past Context

Nigeria remains traumatized by the legacy of the large-scale 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 video clip circulated by Christian groups, a upset worker described hearing the noise of bikes and vehicles before hearing "violent banging" on multiple entrances of the school premises.

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

The local Catholic authority confirmed that the "assailants acted aggressively and uninterrupted for almost three hours, moving through dormitories."

Public Reaction and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, concerned guardians were collecting their children from educational institutions following the shutdown order.

One parent, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, voiced her shock at the scale of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 children could be abducted at once.

She concluded that the "authorities is failing to act to combat insecurity," and voiced approval for external assistance to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Security Issues

For a long time, well-equipped criminal gangs have been conducting murders and abductions for ransom in rural areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is minimal.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the recent attacks, criminal groups demanding ransom payments frequently attack schools in rural areas where security is inadequate.

These gangs maintain camps in extensive woodland areas straddling several states in western Nigeria.

While these bandits have no political motives and are primarily driven by financial gain, their growing cooperation with jihadist groups from the northeastern region has become a major source of worry for officials and experts alike.