🔗 Share this article

Gunmen have kidnapped over 300 schoolchildren and staff in what appears to be the biggest group abductions in recent Nigerian experience, as reported by a religious organization on Saturday.

Growing Crisis in School Institutions

The early Friday raid on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state occurred just days after armed men attacked a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, abducting 25 female students.

Initial reports had suggested 227 victims were taken, but revised numbers surfaced after a comprehensive counting process established that 303 pupils and 12 instructors had been abducted.

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

Official Reaction and Security Measures

Local officials have confirmed that security departments and law enforcement are currently performing a comprehensive assessment to establish the precise number of missing individuals.

In response to the increasing security fears, the local authorities has directed the shutting of all schools in the state, with neighboring states adopting comparable preventive actions.

Additionally, the federal education department has directed the provisional shutting of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

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

Latest Violent Incidents

The educational institution abductions represent the most recent in a series of security incidents that have rocked the country, including an attack on a church in the west of Nigeria where assailants killed two individuals and seized numerous worshipers during a live-streamed service.

These events have occurred against the backdrop of international focus on Nigeria's safety situation.

Historical Context

Nigeria continues to be traumatized by the memory of the mass abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with several of those victims still missing.

Firsthand Accounts

In a concerning video clip shared by religious groups, a distraught worker described hearing the noise of bikes and cars before hearing "forceful banging" on multiple entrances of the compound.

"Students were weeping," the witness stated, recounting her panic while searching for access to the section where the crying was most intense.

The regional Catholic authority confirmed that the "assailants acted violently and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Citizen Reaction and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried parents were collecting their students from educational institutions following the closure directive.

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

She stated that the "authorities is not doing enough to address the security crisis," and voiced approval for international assistance to "resolve this situation."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For a long time, heavily armed criminal gangs have been conducting murders and abductions for ransom in rural areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the recent incidents, bandit gangs demanding ransom payments often target schools in countryside locations where protection is weak.

These gangs maintain bases in vast forest areas straddling several states in western Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no political motives and are primarily driven by financial gain, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a significant cause of worry for authorities and experts alike.