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Gunmen have kidnapped over 300 schoolchildren and staff in what appears to be the most significant collective seizures in modern Nigerian times, according to a Christian organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Institutions

The early Friday assault on St Mary's co-educational school in Niger state happened just a short time after gunmen attacked a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 girls.

Earlier accounts had suggested 227 victims were taken, but updated numbers emerged after a thorough assessment established that 303 students and 12 teachers had been abducted.

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

Official Response and Security Measures

State officials have stated that security agencies and police are presently conducting a thorough head count to determine the precise number of missing people.

In response to the increasing safety fears, the local authorities has directed the shutting of every schools in the region, with neighboring states following comparable precautionary actions.

Furthermore, the federal education department has directed the temporary shutting of 47 boarding secondary schools across the country.

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

Latest Security Events

The school abductions constitute the most recent in a sequence of security incidents that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a church in the west of Nigeria where gunmen killed two individuals and abducted dozens congregation members during a online broadcast service.

These events have taken place against the background of global focus on Nigeria's security situation.

Past Background

Nigeria remains scarred by the memory of the mass abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with several of those girls still unaccounted for.

Firsthand Accounts

In a concerning recording circulated by religious organizations, a distraught employee recounted hearing the sounds of bikes and cars before hearing "violent banging" on multiple entrances of the school premises.

"Students were weeping," the witness said, describing her fear while searching for keys to the area where the crying was most intense.

The regional Catholic diocese confirmed that the "assailants acted aggressively and without interruption for nearly three hours, moving through dormitories."

Citizen Reaction and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried guardians were collecting their children from schools following the closure order.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her shock at the scale of the abduction, asking how 300 children could be taken simultaneously.

She stated that the "authorities is not doing enough to combat the security crisis," and expressed support for international intervention to "resolve this crisis."

Ongoing Security Issues

For years, well-equipped bandit groups have been carrying out murders and kidnappings for ransom in rural areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While nobody has taken credit for the latest incidents, criminal groups seeking ransom payments often target schools in rural areas where protection is weak.

These gangs maintain camps in extensive woodland areas spanning several states in the west of Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no ideological leanings and are primarily motivated by monetary profit, their increasing alliance with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant cause of worry for officials and security analysts alike.