🔗 Share this article

Armed attackers have abducted in excess of 300 pupils and educators in one of the most significant collective seizures in recent Nigerian experience, as stated by a religious organization on Saturday.

Growing Crisis in Educational Institutions

The Friday morning attack on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria happened just days after armed men attacked a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, taking 25 girls.

Earlier accounts had indicated 227 victims were seized, but new figures emerged after a detailed verification exercise determined that 303 students and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

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

Government Reaction and Safety Actions

Local officials have stated that security agencies and law enforcement are presently performing a thorough assessment to verify the exact number of missing individuals.

In response to the increasing safety concerns, the state government has directed the closure of all schools in the region, with neighboring states following similar preventive steps.

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

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled overseas engagements, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on managing the crisis.

Latest Security Incidents

The educational institution kidnappings represent the most recent in a series of security incidents that have rocked the country, including an assault on a place of worship in western Nigeria where gunmen killed two people and abducted many worshipers during a live-streamed service.

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

Historical Context

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the memory of the large-scale kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with some of those victims still missing.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a concerning video clip circulated by Christian organizations, a upset employee described hearing the noise of motorcycles and cars before hearing "forceful banging" on multiple gates of the school premises.

"Children were screaming," the staff member reported, recounting her panic while looking for access to the area where the screaming was most intense.

The regional Catholic diocese confirmed that the "assailants operated violently and uninterrupted for almost three hours, searching dormitories."

Public Reaction and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned parents were collecting their students from schools following the shutdown order.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her shock at the magnitude of the kidnapping, asking how 300 students could be taken simultaneously.

She concluded that the "government is not doing enough to curb the security crisis," and voiced support for external intervention to "resolve this situation."

Continuing Safety Challenges

For years, heavily armed bandit groups have been conducting murders and kidnappings for money in rural areas of northern and central Nigeria, where government control is limited.

While no group has taken credit for the latest incidents, bandit gangs demanding financial compensation often attack schools in countryside locations where security is inadequate.

These gangs maintain bases in vast woodland areas spanning multiple states in the west of Nigeria.

While these criminals have no political motives and are primarily motivated by financial gain, their growing alliance with extremist groups from the north-east has become a major source of concern for officials and security analysts alike.