🔗 Share this article

Armed attackers have kidnapped more than 300 students and teachers in what is considered the biggest group abductions in modern Nigerian times, according to a Christian organization on Saturday.

Growing Emergency in Educational Facilities

The Friday morning attack on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria came just a short time after armed men attacked a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 girls.

Initial reports had suggested 227 individuals were taken, but updated numbers emerged after a thorough assessment determined that 303 students and 12 teachers had been kidnapped.

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

Government Response and Safety Measures

Local officials have announced that security departments and police are currently performing a thorough census to determine the precise number of abducted people.

In response to the increasing security fears, the local authorities has directed the shutting of all schools in the region, with neighboring states adopting similar precautionary steps.

Furthermore, the federal education department has directed the temporary shutting of 47 residential high schools across the country.

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled overseas engagements, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on handling the emergency.

Latest Violent Incidents

The educational institution abductions represent the most recent in a series of safety incidents that have shaken the nation, including an attack on a place of worship in western Nigeria where gunmen shot dead two people and seized many worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Historical Context

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

Firsthand Testimonies

In a disturbing video clip circulated by religious organizations, a distraught worker recounted hearing the sounds of bikes and cars before experiencing "violent banging" on various gates of the school premises.

"Children were weeping," the staff member said, describing her terror while searching for access to the area where the crying was most intense.

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

Public Response and Fears

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

One parent, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, expressed her disbelief at the scale of the abduction, asking how 300 children could be abducted at once.

She concluded that the "authorities is failing to act to combat the security crisis," and voiced approval for external intervention to "resolve this crisis."

Ongoing Safety Issues

For years, heavily armed bandit groups have been conducting killings and abductions for ransom in remote areas of northern and central Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the recent incidents, criminal groups demanding financial compensation frequently attack schools in countryside locations where protection is weak.

These groups maintain camps in extensive forest areas straddling multiple states in the west of Nigeria.

Although these criminals have no political motives and are mainly driven by monetary profit, their growing cooperation with extremist groups from the north-east has become a significant source of worry for authorities and security analysts alike.