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Gunmen have seized more than 300 schoolchildren and staff in one of the most significant mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian times, as reported by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in School Facilities

The Friday morning assault on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state came just a short time after gunmen stormed a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 female students.

Initial reports had suggested 227 individuals were taken, but revised figures were released after a comprehensive counting process established that 303 pupils and 12 educators had been abducted.

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

Official Reaction and Safety Actions

State authorities have confirmed that security agencies and law enforcement are presently performing a thorough census to verify the precise number of abducted individuals.

In response to the increasing safety concerns, the state government has directed the closure of all schools in the state, with neighboring states following similar preventive measures.

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

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled international engagements, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on managing the emergency.

Recent Violent Events

The school abductions represent the latest in a sequence of security incidents that have shaken the country, including an assault on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where assailants shot dead two people and seized many worshipers during a live-streamed service.

These events have occurred against the background of international attention on Nigeria's security situation.

Historical Context

Nigeria remains traumatized by the legacy of the mass abduction of nearly 300 female students 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 distraught employee recounted hearing the sounds of bikes and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

"Children were screaming," the witness stated, recounting her fear while looking for access to the section where the crying was loudest.

The regional Catholic authority confirmed that the "assailants acted violently and without interruption for almost three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Public Response and Concerns

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

One parent, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, expressed her shock at the magnitude of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 students could be taken at once.

She concluded that the "government is not doing enough to address the security crisis," and voiced support for external intervention to "resolve this situation."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For years, well-equipped criminal gangs have been conducting murders and kidnappings for money in rural areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where government control is limited.

While nobody has taken credit for the recent attacks, bandit gangs seeking financial compensation often target schools in rural areas where security is weak.

These gangs maintain bases in extensive woodland areas straddling multiple states in the west of Nigeria.

Although these bandits have no political motives and are primarily driven by financial gain, their increasing cooperation with jihadist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant source of concern for officials and experts alike.