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Armed attackers have abducted over 300 pupils and educators in what is considered the most significant mass kidnappings in modern Nigerian history, as reported by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in School Facilities

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

Earlier reports had stated 227 individuals were seized, but new figures were released after a comprehensive counting process determined that 303 students and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

The abducted pupils, ranging between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly 50 percent of the school's total student body of 629.

Official Response and Security Measures

State authorities have stated that intelligence agencies and police are currently conducting a comprehensive head count to determine the precise number of abducted individuals.

In response to the growing security concerns, the state government has ordered the closure of all schools in the region, with nearby states following comparable precautionary measures.

Furthermore, the federal education department has ordered the temporary closure of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

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

Recent Security Events

The school abductions represent the most recent in a series of safety incidents that have shaken the country, including an assault on a church in western Nigeria where assailants shot dead two individuals and seized many worshipers during a live-streamed service.

These incidents have occurred against the background of international focus on Nigeria's safety situation.

Historical Background

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the memory of the mass abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with some of those girls still missing.

Eyewitness Accounts

In a concerning recording circulated by religious groups, a upset school staff member recounted hearing the sounds of motorcycles and cars before hearing "violent banging" on various gates of the school premises.

"Students were weeping," the witness reported, describing her panic while searching for keys to the area where the crying was loudest.

The regional Catholic authority confirmed that the "assailants operated violently and without interruption for almost three hours, searching dormitories."

Citizen Response and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried parents were collecting their children from educational institutions following the closure directive.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her disbelief at the magnitude of the kidnapping, asking how 300 children could be abducted simultaneously.

She stated that the "government is not doing enough to address the security crisis," and expressed support for international intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Safety Issues

For years, heavily armed criminal gangs have been carrying out murders and kidnappings for money in rural areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where government control is limited.

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, criminal groups seeking ransom payments often attack schools in rural areas where protection is weak.

These groups maintain bases in extensive woodland areas spanning multiple states in the west of Nigeria.

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