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Armed attackers have kidnapped in excess of 300 schoolchildren and staff in one of the largest collective seizures in recent Nigerian times, according to a religious organization on Saturday.

Growing Emergency in School Facilities

The Friday morning attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria occurred just days after armed men invaded a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, taking 25 female students.

Initial reports had stated 227 victims were seized, but revised numbers surfaced after a comprehensive verification exercise confirmed that 303 students and 12 educators had been abducted.

The taken pupils, aged between eight and 18 years, account for nearly half of the school's overall enrollment of 629.

Government Reaction and Security Measures

State officials have announced that security agencies and law enforcement are presently conducting a comprehensive census to determine the precise number of abducted people.

In response to the growing safety concerns, the state government has directed the closure of all schools in the region, with neighboring states following comparable preventive measures.

Additionally, the federal education department has directed the provisional closure of 47 residential high schools across the country.

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

Recent Violent Incidents

The educational institution abductions represent the latest in a sequence of security incidents that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a place of worship in western Nigeria where assailants killed two people and abducted numerous worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Historical Context

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the memory of the mass abduction of almost 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with several of those girls still missing.

Firsthand Accounts

In a concerning video clip circulated by Christian groups, a upset school staff member described hearing the noise of bikes and cars before experiencing "violent banging" on various entrances of the compound.

"Children were weeping," the witness reported, recounting her fear while searching for keys to the area where the crying was loudest.

The regional Catholic diocese stated that the "assailants operated aggressively and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Citizen Response and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried guardians were picking up their children from educational institutions following the closure order.

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

She stated that the "authorities is not doing enough to combat insecurity," and voiced approval for external assistance to "resolve this crisis."

Ongoing Security Issues

For a long time, heavily armed criminal gangs have been conducting killings and kidnappings for ransom in rural areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is minimal.

While no group has taken credit for the latest incidents, bandit gangs demanding financial compensation often attack schools in countryside locations where protection is inadequate.

These groups maintain bases in vast forest areas spanning several states in western Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no ideological leanings and are mainly driven by monetary profit, their increasing alliance with jihadist groups from the northeastern region has become a major cause of worry for authorities and security analysts alike.