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Armed attackers have seized in excess of 300 students and teachers in what appears to be the largest group abductions in modern Nigerian history, according to a religious organization on Saturday.

Growing Emergency in School Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state came just a short time after armed men invaded a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 young women.

Initial accounts had suggested 227 victims were taken, but new numbers surfaced after a thorough verification exercise confirmed that 303 pupils and 12 educators had been abducted.

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

Official Reaction and Safety Actions

State authorities have confirmed that intelligence departments and police are currently performing a thorough head count to verify the exact number of missing individuals.

In reaction to the increasing safety concerns, the state government has directed the shutting of every schools in the region, with nearby states following similar precautionary actions.

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

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled overseas engagements, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on addressing the situation.

Recent Security Events

The school abductions represent the latest in a sequence of security breaches that have shaken the country, including an assault on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where gunmen killed two individuals and seized numerous congregation members during a online broadcast service.

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

Past Background

Nigeria remains scarred by the memory of the mass abduction of almost 300 female students by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a ten years ago, with some of those girls still missing.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a disturbing recording circulated by Christian groups, a frightened employee described hearing the noise of bikes and cars before hearing "forceful banging" on various entrances of the compound.

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

The regional Catholic authority stated that the "attackers operated violently and without interruption for almost three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Citizen Response and Fears

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, concerned guardians were picking up their students from educational institutions following the shutdown directive.

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

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to combat the security crisis," and voiced support for external intervention to "salvage this situation."

Continuing Security Challenges

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

While no group has taken credit for the latest incidents, criminal groups seeking ransom payments often attack schools in rural areas where protection is inadequate.

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

Although these bandits have no ideological leanings and are primarily driven by financial gain, their growing alliance with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a major source of worry for officials and experts alike.