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Armed attackers have abducted in excess of 300 students and teachers in what appears to be the most significant mass kidnappings in modern Nigerian times, according to a religious organization on Saturday.

Escalating Crisis in School Facilities

The Friday morning raid on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria occurred just days after armed men attacked a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 young women.

Earlier accounts had indicated 227 individuals were taken, but updated numbers were released after a thorough verification exercise established that 303 students and 12 teachers had been kidnapped.

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

Government Reaction and Safety Measures

Local officials have stated that security departments and law enforcement are presently performing a thorough assessment to establish the exact number of abducted individuals.

In reaction to the increasing safety fears, the local authorities has mandated the shutting of every schools in the region, with neighboring states following similar preventive steps.

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

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled international engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on handling the situation.

Latest Security Incidents

The school abductions constitute the latest in a sequence of security breaches that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a place of worship in western Nigeria where gunmen shot dead two people and abducted dozens worshipers during a online broadcast service.

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

Historical Context

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the legacy of the mass abduction of almost 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a ten years ago, with several of those victims still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a concerning recording shared by Christian organizations, a frightened school staff member described hearing the sounds of bikes and vehicles before experiencing "violent banging" on various gates of the school premises.

"Students were screaming," the staff member reported, recounting her panic while searching for access to the area where the screaming was loudest.

The local Catholic authority stated that the "attackers operated aggressively and without interruption for almost three hours, searching dormitories."

Citizen Response and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, worried guardians were picking up their students from educational institutions following the shutdown order.

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

She stated that the "government is not doing enough to combat the security crisis," and voiced support for external assistance to "resolve this situation."

Ongoing Safety Challenges

For years, well-equipped bandit groups have been carrying out murders and kidnappings for ransom in rural areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, criminal groups seeking financial compensation often target schools in rural areas where protection is weak.

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

Although these bandits have no ideological leanings and are primarily motivated by financial gain, their increasing cooperation with extremist groups from the north-east has become a major cause of worry for authorities and experts alike.