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Armed attackers have abducted more than 300 students and teachers in what is considered the biggest collective seizures in modern Nigerian experience, according to a Christian organization on Saturday.

Growing Crisis in Educational Institutions

The early Friday assault on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria happened just days after armed men attacked a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 young women.

Earlier accounts had suggested 227 victims were taken, but new numbers emerged after a thorough assessment determined that 303 pupils and 12 instructors had been abducted.

The taken children, ranging between eight and 18 years, represent nearly half of the school's total student body of 629.

Official Reaction and Security Actions

Local authorities have confirmed that security departments and police are currently conducting a comprehensive census to determine the precise number of abducted people.

In response to the increasing security fears, the state government has directed the closure of all schools in the state, with neighboring states adopting comparable precautionary measures.

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

President Bola Tinubu has called off overseas commitments, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on handling the emergency.

Latest Security Incidents

The school abductions 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 assailants shot dead two people and abducted many congregation members during a online broadcast service.

These events have occurred against the backdrop of global attention on Nigeria's safety situation.

Past Context

Nigeria remains traumatized by the memory of the large-scale kidnapping of almost 300 female students by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with some of those girls still missing.

Firsthand Accounts

In a concerning video clip circulated by religious organizations, a frightened worker recounted hearing the noise of bikes and vehicles before hearing "violent banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

"Children were screaming," the witness stated, describing her fear while searching for access to the section where the screaming was loudest.

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

Public Reaction and Concerns

At the same time, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, worried guardians were collecting their students from educational institutions following the shutdown directive.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her shock at the scale of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 children could be abducted simultaneously.

She concluded that the "authorities is not doing enough to combat the security crisis," and expressed support for external assistance to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Security Challenges

For a long time, heavily armed criminal gangs have been conducting murders and abductions for money in remote areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While no group has taken credit for the recent incidents, criminal groups demanding financial compensation often attack schools in countryside locations where security is weak.

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

While these criminals have no ideological leanings and are mainly motivated by financial gain, their increasing cooperation with extremist groups from the north-east has become a major source of worry for authorities and experts alike.