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Armed attackers have abducted in excess of 300 schoolchildren and staff in what is considered the largest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian history, as stated by a religious organization on Saturday.

Escalating Crisis in Educational Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday assault on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria happened just days after armed men stormed a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls.

Initial reports had stated 227 victims were taken, but updated figures were released after a thorough verification exercise confirmed that 303 pupils and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

The kidnapped students, aged between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly 50 percent of the school's overall student population of 629.

Government Reaction and Safety Actions

Local officials have announced that security departments and police are presently performing a thorough assessment to determine the exact number of abducted individuals.

In response to the growing security fears, the local authorities has directed the shutting of every schools in the region, with nearby states following similar preventive steps.

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

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

Latest Violent Incidents

The school abductions constitute the most recent in a sequence of safety breaches that have shaken the country, including an attack on a church in western Nigeria where assailants shot dead two people and seized many worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Historical Background

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the legacy of the large-scale kidnapping of almost 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with some of those victims still unaccounted for.

Firsthand Accounts

In a disturbing video clip circulated by religious organizations, a frightened worker described hearing the sounds of bikes and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on various gates of the school premises.

"Children were weeping," the staff member stated, describing her panic while looking for keys to the area where the screaming was most intense.

The local Catholic authority stated that the "assailants acted violently and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Public Reaction and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned guardians were picking up their students from schools following the closure directive.

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

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

Continuing Safety Challenges

For years, heavily armed bandit groups have been carrying out killings and abductions for ransom in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While no group has taken credit for the recent incidents, bandit gangs seeking financial compensation often attack schools in rural areas where security is weak.

These groups maintain bases in vast forest areas spanning several states in the west of Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no political motives and are primarily motivated by financial gain, their increasing cooperation with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a major cause of worry for authorities and experts alike.