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Gunmen have seized in excess of 300 students and teachers in what appears to be the largest collective seizures in recent Nigerian experience, as stated by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Escalating Emergency in School Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state happened just days after armed men attacked a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, seizing 25 female students.

Initial reports had indicated 227 victims were seized, but new numbers were released after a comprehensive counting process established that 303 students and 12 instructors had been kidnapped.

The kidnapped students, ranging between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly half of the school's total student body of 629.

Government Response and Safety Measures

State authorities have stated that intelligence departments and police are currently conducting a comprehensive assessment to determine the exact number of abducted people.

In response to the increasing security concerns, the local authorities has ordered the shutting of every schools in the region, with neighboring states adopting similar precautionary measures.

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

President Bola Tinubu has called off international commitments, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on handling the crisis.

Recent Violent Incidents

The school kidnappings constitute the most recent in a series of security breaches that have rocked the country, including an assault on a church in the west of Nigeria where gunmen killed two people and abducted many congregation members during a live-streamed service.

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

Historical Context

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

Firsthand Accounts

In a disturbing video clip circulated by Christian groups, a upset worker recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and cars before hearing "violent banging" on multiple entrances of the school premises.

"Students were screaming," the witness stated, recounting her panic while looking for keys to the section where the screaming was most intense.

The local Catholic diocese confirmed that the "attackers acted aggressively and without interruption for nearly three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Citizen Response and Concerns

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned parents were picking up their children from educational institutions following the closure directive.

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

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to address the security crisis," and voiced support for international intervention to "resolve this crisis."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For a long time, heavily armed criminal gangs have been carrying out murders and kidnappings for ransom in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the latest incidents, criminal groups seeking financial compensation frequently attack schools in rural areas where protection is weak.

These gangs maintain bases in extensive forest areas straddling several states in western Nigeria.

While these criminals have no political motives and are mainly driven by monetary profit, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the north-east has become a major source of worry for authorities and security analysts alike.