🔗 Share this article

Armed attackers have abducted over 300 students and teachers in what is considered the largest mass kidnappings in modern Nigerian experience, as stated by a Christian organization on the weekend.

Growing Crisis in Educational Institutions

The pre-dawn Friday assault on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria occurred just days after armed men attacked a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 young women.

Initial reports had indicated 227 individuals were seized, but revised numbers emerged after a detailed verification exercise determined that 303 students and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

The taken students, aged between eight and 18 years, account for nearly half of the school's overall student population of 629.

Official Reaction and Safety Actions

Local officials have confirmed that security agencies and law enforcement are presently performing a comprehensive head count to verify the precise number of abducted individuals.

In response to the growing security fears, the local authorities has directed the shutting of all schools in the region, with neighboring states following comparable precautionary actions.

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

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

Recent Violent Events

The educational institution abductions constitute the most recent in a series of security breaches that have shaken the country, including an attack on a church in western Nigeria where gunmen killed two individuals and abducted dozens worshipers during a live-streamed service.

These events have taken place against the background of global focus on Nigeria's security situation.

Past Background

Nigeria remains traumatized by the legacy of the mass abduction of almost 300 female students by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a ten years ago, with several of those girls still missing.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a concerning recording shared by religious organizations, a upset worker described hearing the sounds of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on various gates of the compound.

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

The regional Catholic authority confirmed that the "assailants operated aggressively and without interruption for nearly three hours, moving through sleeping quarters."

Public Response and Concerns

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

One parent, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, expressed her shock at the magnitude of the kidnapping, asking how 300 students could be abducted at once.

She stated that the "government is not doing enough to curb insecurity," and voiced approval for external intervention to "resolve this situation."

Ongoing Safety Challenges

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

While no group has taken credit for the latest attacks, criminal groups demanding financial compensation frequently target schools in countryside locations where protection is inadequate.

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

While these bandits have no ideological leanings and are primarily motivated by monetary profit, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the northeastern region has become a major source of worry for officials and security analysts alike.