🔗 Share this article

Gunmen have kidnapped in excess of 300 schoolchildren and staff in what appears to be the biggest collective seizures in modern Nigerian history, as stated by a religious organization on the weekend.

Escalating Crisis in School Facilities

The Friday morning assault on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria occurred just a short time after armed men stormed a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 young women.

Initial accounts had indicated 227 individuals were seized, but updated figures emerged after a thorough counting process confirmed that 303 pupils and 12 educators had been abducted.

The taken pupils, ranging between eight and 18 years, represent nearly 50 percent of the school's total enrollment of 629.

Government Response and Safety Actions

Local officials have confirmed that intelligence departments and law enforcement are currently performing a thorough head count to determine the exact number of missing individuals.

In reaction to the increasing security fears, the state government has ordered the shutting of every schools in the region, with nearby states following similar preventive steps.

Additionally, the federal education ministry has ordered the provisional closure of 47 boarding secondary schools across the country.

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

Recent Security Incidents

The school abductions represent the most recent in a sequence of security incidents that have shaken the nation, including an attack on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where gunmen shot dead two individuals and abducted many worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Past Background

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

Eyewitness Accounts

In a disturbing video clip circulated by Christian groups, a distraught school staff member recounted hearing the sounds of motorcycles and vehicles before experiencing "forceful banging" on multiple gates of the school premises.

"Children were weeping," the witness reported, recounting her fear while searching for keys to the section where the crying was loudest.

The local Catholic authority stated that the "attackers operated violently and without interruption for nearly three hours, searching dormitories."

Public Reaction and Concerns

At the same time, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, concerned parents were picking up their children from educational institutions following the shutdown order.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, 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 voiced approval for external intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Security Issues

For years, heavily armed criminal gangs have been carrying out killings and abductions for money in remote areas of northern and central Nigeria, where government control is minimal.

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the latest incidents, bandit gangs seeking financial compensation frequently target schools in countryside locations where security is inadequate.

These gangs maintain bases in extensive forest areas spanning multiple states in western Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no ideological leanings and are primarily motivated by monetary profit, their increasing alliance with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant cause of concern for authorities and experts alike.