🔗 Share this article

Armed attackers have kidnapped in excess of 300 students and teachers in one of the largest mass kidnappings in modern Nigerian times, as stated by a religious organization on Saturday.

Escalating Crisis in Educational Facilities

The Friday morning attack on St Mary's co-educational school in Niger state occurred just days after armed men invaded a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 girls.

Earlier reports had indicated 227 individuals were seized, but revised figures were released after a detailed counting process established that 303 students and 12 instructors had been abducted.

The abducted students, ranging between eight and 18 years, represent nearly 50 percent of the school's overall enrollment of 629.

Official Reaction and Security Measures

Local officials have announced that intelligence departments and police are presently performing a thorough census to determine the precise number of missing people.

In response to the increasing safety concerns, the state government has directed the shutting of all schools in the state, with neighboring states adopting comparable precautionary measures.

Additionally, the national education department has ordered the provisional closure of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled international engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on handling the crisis.

Recent Violent Events

The educational institution abductions represent the latest in a sequence of security breaches that have rocked the country, including an assault on a church in the west of Nigeria where gunmen killed two individuals and abducted dozens congregation members during a online broadcast service.

These incidents have occurred against the background of global attention on Nigeria's security situation.

Historical Background

Nigeria remains scarred by the memory of the large-scale kidnapping of almost 300 schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with several of those girls still missing.

Firsthand Accounts

In a disturbing recording shared by Christian organizations, a frightened employee recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "violent banging" on various gates of the compound.

"Children were crying," the witness reported, describing her panic while looking for access to the area where the screaming was most intense.

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

Public Reaction and Concerns

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

One parent, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, voiced her disbelief at the scale of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 children could be abducted simultaneously.

She concluded that the "government is not doing enough to address the security crisis," and expressed approval for external assistance to "resolve this situation."

Continuing Security Issues

For a long time, well-equipped bandit groups have been conducting killings and kidnappings for money in rural areas of northern and middle Nigeria, where state presence is minimal.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the latest incidents, criminal groups seeking financial compensation often attack schools in rural areas where security is weak.

These gangs maintain camps in vast woodland areas straddling multiple 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 northeastern region has become a significant source of worry for officials and security analysts alike.