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Gunmen have seized over 300 students and teachers in what appears to be the biggest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian times, according to a Christian organization on Saturday.

Growing Emergency in Educational Facilities

The Friday morning raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state happened just a short time after gunmen invaded a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 female students.

Earlier reports had stated 227 victims were taken, but new figures emerged after a comprehensive counting process confirmed that 303 pupils and 12 teachers had been abducted.

The kidnapped pupils, aged between eight and 18 years, account for nearly half of the school's overall student body of 629.

Government Response and Safety Measures

Local officials have stated that intelligence agencies and police are currently conducting a comprehensive census to determine the exact number of missing people.

In response to the growing security concerns, the state government has ordered the closure of every schools in the region, with neighboring states following similar preventive measures.

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

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

Recent Violent Incidents

The school kidnappings represent the most recent in a series of safety breaches that have rocked the country, including an attack on a place of worship in western Nigeria where gunmen killed two individuals and seized dozens worshipers during a live-streamed service.

These events have occurred against the background of international focus on Nigeria's security situation.

Past Background

Nigeria remains scarred by the legacy of the large-scale abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a ten years ago, with several of those victims still missing.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a disturbing video clip circulated by Christian organizations, a distraught school staff member recounted hearing the noise of bikes and cars before hearing "forceful banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

"Students were screaming," the staff member said, recounting her terror while looking for keys to the area where the screaming was loudest.

The local Catholic diocese stated that the "attackers operated aggressively and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Citizen Response and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned guardians were collecting their children from schools following the shutdown directive.

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

She concluded that the "government is not doing enough to combat insecurity," and expressed approval for external assistance to "salvage this situation."

Ongoing Security Challenges

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

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the recent attacks, bandit gangs seeking ransom payments frequently attack schools in rural areas where security is inadequate.

These groups maintain camps in extensive forest areas straddling several states in western Nigeria.

Although these bandits have no ideological leanings and are primarily motivated by monetary profit, their growing cooperation with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a major source of concern for officials and experts alike.