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Armed attackers have abducted over 300 pupils and educators in one of the most significant group abductions in modern Nigerian experience, as stated by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday raid on St Mary's co-educational school in Niger state came just a short time after armed men invaded a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 female students.

Earlier reports had stated 227 victims were taken, but updated figures emerged after a thorough assessment established that 303 pupils and 12 teachers had been abducted.

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

Official Response and Security Actions

State officials have stated that intelligence agencies and law enforcement are currently performing a comprehensive assessment to determine the precise number of abducted individuals.

In reaction to the increasing safety fears, the local authorities has ordered the shutting of all schools in the state, with neighboring states adopting similar preventive steps.

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

President Bola Tinubu has postponed overseas engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on addressing the emergency.

Recent Security Events

The educational institution abductions constitute the latest in a sequence of safety incidents that have shaken the country, including an attack on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where assailants shot dead two individuals and abducted dozens worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Past Context

Nigeria continues to be traumatized by the memory of the mass abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with several of those victims still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Accounts

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

"Students were crying," the witness said, recounting her fear while looking for access to the section where the screaming was most intense.

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

Public Response and Concerns

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

One mother, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, voiced her shock at the scale of the abduction, questioning how 300 children could be taken simultaneously.

She concluded that the "authorities is not doing enough to combat insecurity," and voiced approval for international intervention to "resolve this crisis."

Continuing Security Issues

For years, well-equipped criminal gangs have been conducting killings and abductions for money in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where government control is limited.

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the recent attacks, criminal groups seeking financial compensation often target schools in countryside locations where security is weak.

These groups maintain camps in vast woodland areas straddling several states in western Nigeria.

Although these bandits have no ideological leanings and are mainly motivated by financial gain, their increasing alliance with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant source of worry for authorities and experts alike.