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Gunmen have kidnapped more than 300 students and teachers in what appears to be the biggest group abductions in recent Nigerian history, according to a Christian organization on Saturday.

Growing Crisis in Educational Facilities

The early Friday assault on St Mary's co-educational school in Niger state occurred just days after gunmen invaded a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls.

Earlier reports had indicated 227 victims were taken, but updated figures emerged after a thorough counting process established that 303 students and 12 teachers had been kidnapped.

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

Official Reaction and Security Measures

Local authorities have confirmed that security agencies and police are currently conducting a thorough assessment to verify the precise number of abducted individuals.

In response to the growing security fears, the local authorities has directed the closure of every schools in the region, with neighboring states adopting comparable preventive steps.

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

President Bola Tinubu has postponed overseas engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on handling the situation.

Latest Violent Incidents

The school kidnappings represent the most recent in a sequence of safety incidents that have shaken the country, including an attack on a church in western Nigeria where assailants shot dead two people and seized numerous congregation members during a online broadcast service.

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

Historical Context

Nigeria continues to be traumatized by the memory of the mass kidnapping of nearly 300 female students by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with several of those victims still missing.

Firsthand Accounts

In a disturbing recording circulated by religious groups, a distraught employee described hearing the sounds of motorcycles and vehicles before experiencing "violent banging" on multiple entrances of the school premises.

"Students were screaming," the staff member stated, recounting her terror while looking for access to the section where the screaming was most intense.

The local Catholic diocese confirmed that the "assailants acted violently and without interruption for almost three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Public Response and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned parents were picking up their students from schools following the shutdown directive.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her disbelief at the magnitude of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 children could be taken simultaneously.

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to combat insecurity," and expressed approval for external assistance to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Safety Challenges

For years, well-equipped criminal gangs have been carrying out murders and abductions for money in rural areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the recent incidents, bandit gangs demanding ransom payments often target schools in rural areas where protection is inadequate.

These gangs maintain camps in extensive forest areas straddling several states in the west of Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no political motives and are primarily motivated by financial gain, their increasing alliance with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a significant cause of worry for authorities and security analysts alike.