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Armed attackers have abducted in excess of 300 pupils and educators in what is considered the biggest group abductions in recent Nigerian times, as reported by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Facilities

The early Friday raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria happened just a short time after armed men invaded a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 female students.

Initial accounts had suggested 227 individuals were taken, but updated figures emerged after a detailed verification exercise determined that 303 pupils and 12 instructors had been kidnapped.

The abducted students, ranging between eight and 18 years, represent nearly half of the school's overall enrollment of 629.

Government Response and Security Actions

Local authorities have stated that intelligence agencies and law enforcement are presently conducting a thorough head count to determine the precise number of missing individuals.

In reaction to the growing safety fears, the local authorities has ordered the shutting of every schools in the region, with neighboring states adopting similar preventive steps.

Furthermore, the national education department has directed the temporary shutting of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

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

Recent Violent Incidents

The school kidnappings represent the latest in a sequence of security breaches that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where gunmen killed two individuals and abducted many congregation members during a live-streamed service.

These events have occurred against the background of global focus on Nigeria's safety situation.

Historical Background

Nigeria remains scarred by the legacy of the mass kidnapping of almost 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with some of those victims still missing.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a concerning video clip circulated by religious groups, a distraught worker recounted hearing the sounds of bikes and cars before hearing "violent banging" on various gates of the school premises.

"Students were weeping," the witness stated, recounting her fear while searching for access to the area where the screaming was most intense.

The local Catholic authority confirmed that the "attackers acted aggressively and without interruption for almost three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Public Reaction and Fears

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned parents were collecting their children from schools following the shutdown order.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her disbelief at the scale of the kidnapping, asking how 300 students could be taken at once.

She concluded that the "government is not doing enough to curb insecurity," and voiced support for international assistance to "resolve this situation."

Continuing Safety Issues

For years, heavily armed criminal gangs have been carrying out murders and abductions for ransom in rural areas of northern and central Nigeria, where government control is limited.

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

These groups maintain camps in vast woodland areas straddling multiple states in western Nigeria.

While these criminals have no ideological leanings and are primarily driven by monetary profit, their growing cooperation with extremist groups from the north-east has become a significant source of worry for officials and experts alike.