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Gunmen have abducted over 300 pupils and educators in what is considered the largest group abductions in recent Nigerian history, as stated by a religious organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in School Institutions

The Friday morning raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state came just a short time after gunmen stormed a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls.

Earlier accounts had stated 227 individuals were taken, but updated figures surfaced after a thorough counting process confirmed that 303 students and 12 instructors had been abducted.

The taken pupils, aged between eight and 18 years, represent nearly 50 percent of the school's overall student population of 629.

Official Reaction and Security Actions

Local officials have stated that intelligence departments and police are presently performing a thorough assessment to determine the exact number of abducted people.

In response to the increasing security concerns, the local authorities has ordered the shutting of every schools in the region, with neighboring states following similar precautionary measures.

Additionally, the federal education ministry has directed the temporary shutting of 47 boarding secondary schools across the country.

President Bola Tinubu has called off overseas commitments, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on handling the crisis.

Latest Violent Events

The educational institution abductions 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 gunmen killed two individuals and seized numerous worshipers during a online broadcast service.

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

Past Background

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the legacy of the mass kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with some of those girls still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Accounts

In a disturbing video clip shared by religious groups, a upset school staff member described hearing the sounds of bikes and vehicles before hearing "violent banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

"Children were crying," the witness reported, describing her fear while searching for access to the area where the screaming was most intense.

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

Public Response and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, worried parents were collecting their students from educational institutions following the shutdown order.

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her disbelief at the magnitude of the abduction, questioning how 300 students could be taken at once.

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to address insecurity," and voiced approval for external intervention to "resolve this crisis."

Continuing Safety Issues

For a long time, heavily armed criminal gangs have been carrying out killings and abductions for ransom in remote areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where state presence is minimal.

While no group has taken credit for the recent attacks, bandit gangs demanding ransom payments often attack schools in rural areas where protection is inadequate.

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

Although these criminals have no ideological leanings and are mainly 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.