🔗 Share this article

Armed attackers have seized in excess of 300 students and teachers in what appears to be the largest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian times, as stated by a Christian organization on Saturday.

Growing Emergency in School Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday assault on St Mary's co-educational school in Niger state occurred just days after gunmen stormed a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, abducting 25 young women.

Initial accounts had suggested 227 individuals were seized, but updated figures were released after a thorough assessment determined that 303 students and 12 instructors had been kidnapped.

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

Government Reaction and Safety Actions

Local officials have stated that security departments and law enforcement are currently performing a comprehensive assessment to determine the precise number of abducted individuals.

In response to the growing security fears, the state government has directed the closure of every schools in the state, with neighboring states following similar precautionary steps.

Additionally, the national education department has directed the temporary closure of 47 residential high schools across the country.

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

Latest Security Events

The educational institution abductions constitute the latest in a sequence of safety incidents that have rocked the country, including an attack on a church in the west of Nigeria where assailants killed two people and seized dozens worshipers during a online broadcast service.

These incidents have occurred against the backdrop of international focus on Nigeria's security situation.

Historical Background

Nigeria remains traumatized by the legacy of the mass abduction of nearly 300 female students by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a ten years ago, with several of those girls still missing.

Eyewitness Accounts

In a concerning video clip circulated by religious groups, a distraught school staff member described hearing the noise of motorcycles and cars before experiencing "violent banging" on various gates of the school premises.

"Students were crying," the witness said, describing her panic while looking for keys to the section where the screaming was loudest.

The local Catholic authority confirmed that the "attackers operated aggressively and without interruption for almost three hours, searching dormitories."

Citizen Reaction and Concerns

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned parents 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, asking how 300 children could be taken simultaneously.

She stated that the "government is not doing enough to curb the security crisis," and expressed support for international assistance to "resolve this crisis."

Continuing Security Challenges

For years, heavily armed criminal gangs have been conducting killings and kidnappings for money in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is minimal.

While nobody has taken credit for the recent incidents, bandit gangs demanding financial compensation frequently attack schools in countryside locations where protection is inadequate.

These gangs maintain bases in extensive woodland areas spanning several states in the west of Nigeria.

While these bandits have no ideological leanings and are primarily motivated by monetary profit, their growing alliance with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a major cause of worry for authorities and security analysts alike.