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Armed attackers have seized more than 300 schoolchildren and staff in one of the largest group abductions in recent Nigerian history, as reported by a religious organization on Saturday.

Growing Crisis in School Facilities

The pre-dawn Friday attack on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria occurred just a short time after gunmen attacked a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls.

Earlier reports had stated 227 victims were seized, but new numbers emerged after a comprehensive verification exercise established that 303 students and 12 teachers had been abducted.

The taken children, ranging between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly 50 percent of the school's overall student body of 629.

Official Response and Security Actions

State officials have confirmed that security agencies and law enforcement are currently conducting a thorough head count to determine the exact number of abducted people.

In reaction to the growing safety concerns, the local authorities has directed the shutting of all schools in the state, with nearby states adopting comparable preventive actions.

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

President Bola Tinubu has called off international engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on addressing the emergency.

Latest Violent Events

The school abductions represent the most recent in a series of security breaches that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a church in the west of Nigeria where assailants killed two people and abducted dozens congregation members during a online broadcast service.

These incidents have taken place against the backdrop of global attention on Nigeria's safety situation.

Past Background

Nigeria remains scarred by the memory of the mass abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with several of those girls still missing.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a disturbing recording shared by Christian groups, a upset worker described hearing the noise of bikes and vehicles before experiencing "forceful banging" on multiple gates of the compound.

"Children were weeping," the witness said, recounting her panic while searching for access to the section where the screaming was loudest.

The regional Catholic authority stated that the "assailants operated aggressively and uninterrupted for almost three hours, searching dormitories."

Citizen Reaction and Concerns

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

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her disbelief at the magnitude of the abduction, asking how 300 children could be abducted at once.

She stated that the "authorities is not doing enough to combat insecurity," and voiced support for external intervention to "resolve this situation."

Ongoing Security Issues

For years, heavily armed criminal gangs have been carrying out murders and kidnappings for ransom in rural areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While nobody has taken credit for the recent incidents, bandit gangs seeking financial compensation often target schools in countryside locations where protection is inadequate.

These gangs maintain camps in extensive forest areas spanning multiple states in western Nigeria.

Although these bandits have no political motives and are primarily driven by financial gain, their increasing cooperation with extremist groups from the north-east has become a significant cause of concern for authorities and experts alike.