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Armed attackers have seized in excess of 300 students and teachers in one of the largest collective seizures in recent Nigerian experience, as reported by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Escalating Crisis in School Institutions

The early Friday attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state came just days after gunmen invaded a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 girls.

Initial accounts had indicated 227 victims were seized, but revised numbers were released after a comprehensive counting process determined that 303 students and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

The taken pupils, aged between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly 50 percent of the school's total enrollment of 629.

Government Reaction and Security Actions

Local authorities have confirmed that security agencies and law enforcement are currently conducting a thorough head count to establish the exact number of abducted people.

In reaction to the increasing safety fears, the local authorities has directed the shutting of every schools in the region, with nearby states following comparable preventive steps.

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

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

Latest Violent Events

The school kidnappings constitute the latest in a series of security incidents that have rocked the country, including an attack on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where assailants shot dead two individuals and abducted numerous worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Past Context

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the legacy of the mass abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with several of those victims still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Accounts

In a disturbing recording shared by religious groups, a frightened worker recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and cars before hearing "forceful banging" on multiple entrances of the school premises.

"Children were weeping," the staff member said, recounting her fear while looking for keys to the section where the crying was loudest.

The regional Catholic diocese confirmed that the "attackers operated aggressively and without interruption for almost three hours, moving through dormitories."

Citizen Reaction and Fears

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, worried parents were collecting their students from educational institutions following the closure order.

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

She concluded that the "authorities is failing to act to curb insecurity," and expressed support for international intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For years, well-equipped bandit groups have been conducting killings and abductions for money in remote areas of northern and central Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

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

These groups maintain bases in extensive woodland areas straddling several states in western Nigeria.

While these bandits have no political motives and are mainly driven by financial gain, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the north-east has become a significant cause of worry for authorities and experts alike.