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Gunmen have seized more than 300 students and teachers in what is considered the biggest mass kidnappings in modern Nigerian history, according to a religious organization on Saturday.

Escalating Crisis in Educational Facilities

The Friday morning raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state came just a short time after gunmen attacked a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 young women.

Initial accounts had stated 227 victims were seized, but updated numbers emerged after a comprehensive counting process determined that 303 students and 12 teachers had been abducted.

The abducted students, aged between eight and 18 years, account for nearly 50 percent of the school's total enrollment of 629.

Official Reaction and Safety Measures

Local officials have stated that intelligence agencies and law enforcement are currently conducting a comprehensive census to establish the exact number of abducted people.

In reaction to the increasing security fears, the local authorities has mandated the closure of every schools in the region, with nearby states adopting similar preventive actions.

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

President Bola Tinubu has postponed international engagements, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on managing the emergency.

Recent Security Incidents

The school kidnappings represent the most recent in a series of safety breaches that have rocked the country, including an attack on a church in western Nigeria where assailants shot dead two individuals and abducted many congregation members during a live-streamed service.

These incidents have taken place against the background of international attention on Nigeria's security situation.

Past Background

Nigeria continues to be traumatized by the legacy of the mass abduction of almost 300 female students by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with some of those victims still missing.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a concerning video clip circulated by Christian groups, a distraught worker recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and cars before experiencing "violent banging" on multiple entrances of the compound.

"Children were crying," the staff member reported, recounting her fear while searching for keys to the area where the crying was loudest.

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

Citizen Response and Fears

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

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her shock at the magnitude of the abduction, asking how 300 students could be taken simultaneously.

She concluded that the "authorities is not doing enough to curb the security crisis," and expressed approval for external intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Security Issues

For a long time, well-equipped bandit groups have been carrying out murders and abductions for money in remote areas of northern and central Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

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

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

While these bandits have no political motives and are primarily driven by financial gain, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant cause of worry for officials and security analysts alike.