🔗 Share this article

Gunmen have kidnapped in excess of 300 students and teachers in what appears to be the largest collective seizures in recent Nigerian times, according to a religious organization on the weekend.

Growing Emergency in Educational Institutions

The early Friday attack on St Mary's co-educational school in Niger state came just a short time after armed men invaded a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, seizing 25 female students.

Initial reports had stated 227 individuals were taken, but revised figures surfaced after a comprehensive assessment confirmed that 303 pupils and 12 educators had been abducted.

The abducted pupils, aged between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly 50 percent of the school's total student body of 629.

Official Reaction and Safety Measures

Local authorities have confirmed that security agencies and law enforcement are currently performing a comprehensive census to establish the exact number of abducted individuals.

In response to the increasing security fears, the state government has directed the closure of all schools in the state, with nearby states following similar precautionary actions.

Furthermore, the federal education department has ordered the provisional shutting of 47 boarding secondary schools across the country.

President Bola Tinubu has called off international engagements, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on managing the situation.

Recent Violent Incidents

The educational institution abductions represent the latest in a sequence of safety incidents that have rocked the country, including an attack on a place of worship in western Nigeria where assailants killed two individuals and seized dozens congregation members during a online broadcast service.

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

Historical Background

Nigeria remains traumatized by the legacy of the mass abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a ten years ago, with several of those girls still missing.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a disturbing recording shared by Christian groups, a upset worker recounted hearing the noise of bikes and vehicles before experiencing "forceful banging" on various gates of the school premises.

"Children were weeping," the staff member stated, describing her panic while searching for access to the section where the screaming was most intense.

The local Catholic diocese stated that the "assailants operated violently and without interruption for nearly three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Citizen Reaction and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried guardians were picking up their students from schools following the shutdown directive.

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her shock at the scale of the kidnapping, asking how 300 children could be taken at once.

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to address the security crisis," and voiced approval for international intervention to "salvage this situation."

Ongoing Safety Challenges

For a long time, well-equipped criminal gangs have been carrying out murders and abductions for ransom in remote areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While nobody has taken credit for the recent attacks, criminal groups demanding financial compensation frequently target schools in countryside locations where protection is weak.

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

Although these criminals have no ideological leanings and are mainly motivated by monetary profit, their increasing cooperation with jihadist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant cause of worry for officials and security analysts alike.