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Gunmen have seized in excess of 300 students and teachers in what is considered the largest mass kidnappings in modern Nigerian times, as reported by a religious organization on Saturday.

Escalating Crisis in Educational Facilities

The early Friday attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria happened just a short time after gunmen stormed a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 female students.

Initial accounts had indicated 227 victims were taken, but updated numbers surfaced after a thorough verification exercise determined that 303 pupils and 12 teachers had been abducted.

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

Government Reaction and Security Measures

Local authorities have announced that security departments and police are presently conducting a thorough assessment to determine the exact number of abducted people.

In reaction to the growing safety fears, the local authorities has mandated the shutting of every schools in the region, with nearby states adopting comparable precautionary actions.

Additionally, the national education department has ordered the temporary closure of 47 residential high schools throughout the country.

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled international commitments, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on addressing the situation.

Recent Security Events

The educational institution kidnappings constitute the most recent in a sequence of safety incidents that have rocked the nation, including an attack on a place of worship in western Nigeria where assailants shot dead two individuals and seized many worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Historical Background

Nigeria continues to be traumatized 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 disturbing video clip circulated by religious groups, a distraught worker described hearing the sounds of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on multiple entrances of the school premises.

"Students were crying," the witness reported, recounting her terror while searching for keys to the area where the crying was loudest.

The local Catholic diocese confirmed that the "attackers operated aggressively and uninterrupted for almost three hours, moving through dormitories."

Public 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, expressed her shock at the magnitude of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 children could be taken simultaneously.

She concluded that the "government is not doing enough to address insecurity," and expressed approval for international assistance to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Security Issues

For years, well-equipped bandit groups have been carrying out killings and kidnappings for ransom in rural areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While nobody has taken credit for the latest attacks, bandit gangs demanding financial compensation frequently attack schools in rural areas where protection is inadequate.

These groups maintain camps in vast forest areas straddling several states in western Nigeria.

While these bandits have no political motives and are primarily driven by financial gain, their increasing alliance with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a significant cause of worry for authorities and security analysts alike.