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Armed attackers have seized over 300 students and teachers in one of the most significant group abductions in recent Nigerian experience, as stated by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in School Institutions

The early Friday attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state happened just a short time after armed men stormed a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 girls.

Earlier reports had stated 227 victims were seized, but updated numbers were released after a thorough verification exercise established that 303 pupils and 12 instructors had been abducted.

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

Government Response and Safety Measures

State authorities have confirmed that intelligence agencies and police are currently performing a comprehensive census to establish the precise number of abducted people.

In response to the increasing safety fears, the local authorities has mandated the shutting of all schools in the region, with nearby states following comparable preventive actions.

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

President Bola Tinubu has called off overseas engagements, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on managing the emergency.

Recent Violent Events

The school abductions represent the latest in a sequence of safety breaches that have rocked the nation, including an assault on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where gunmen killed two people and seized many congregation members during a live-streamed service.

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

Past Background

Nigeria continues to be traumatized by the memory of the large-scale abduction of nearly 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with several of those victims still unaccounted for.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a disturbing recording shared by Christian groups, a upset worker described hearing the sounds of bikes and vehicles before experiencing "violent banging" on multiple gates of the school premises.

"Students were crying," the witness reported, recounting her terror while looking for access to the area where the screaming was loudest.

The regional Catholic authority confirmed that the "attackers operated violently and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, searching dormitories."

Citizen Reaction and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, concerned parents were collecting their students from educational institutions following the closure order.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her shock at the magnitude of the abduction, asking how 300 students could be taken simultaneously.

She concluded that the "government is failing to act to combat the security crisis," and voiced support for international intervention to "salvage this situation."

Continuing Security Issues

For a long time, well-equipped bandit groups have been conducting murders and kidnappings for money in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While nobody has taken credit for the latest incidents, criminal groups seeking financial compensation frequently target schools in rural areas where security is weak.

These groups maintain bases in extensive woodland areas spanning several states in western Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no political motives and are mainly driven by financial gain, their growing cooperation with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a major source of worry for officials and experts alike.