🔗 Share this article

Armed attackers have abducted over 300 students and teachers in what appears to be the biggest mass kidnappings in modern Nigerian experience, as reported by a religious organization on the weekend.

Growing Crisis in Educational Facilities

The Friday morning attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria occurred just days after armed men invaded a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, abducting 25 female students.

Initial reports had stated 227 victims were taken, but updated numbers surfaced after a detailed assessment confirmed that 303 pupils and 12 instructors had been abducted.

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

Official Response and Security Actions

Local officials have confirmed that security departments and law enforcement are presently conducting a comprehensive head count to verify the precise number of missing people.

In response to the growing safety fears, the state government has ordered the closure of every schools in the region, with nearby states adopting comparable precautionary measures.

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

President Bola Tinubu has postponed overseas commitments, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on addressing the emergency.

Recent Security Events

The educational institution abductions constitute the latest in a series of safety breaches that have rocked the nation, including an attack on a church in the west of Nigeria where gunmen killed two people and abducted many congregation members during a live-streamed service.

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

Past Background

Nigeria remains traumatized by the memory of the large-scale kidnapping of almost 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a ten years ago, with some of those girls still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a disturbing video clip circulated by Christian organizations, a distraught worker recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and cars before hearing "violent banging" on multiple gates of the compound.

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

The regional Catholic authority stated that the "attackers acted violently and without interruption for almost three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Citizen Reaction and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, concerned parents were picking up their students from schools following the shutdown directive.

One mother, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, expressed her disbelief at the magnitude of the abduction, questioning how 300 children could be taken simultaneously.

She concluded that the "government is failing to act to combat insecurity," and expressed support for international intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Security Issues

For years, heavily armed bandit groups have been conducting murders and abductions for money in rural areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where state presence is minimal.

While no group has taken credit for the recent incidents, criminal groups demanding ransom payments often attack schools in rural areas where security is inadequate.

These groups maintain bases in vast forest areas straddling several states in the west of Nigeria.

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