🔗 Share this article

Gunmen have kidnapped more than 300 pupils and educators in one of the most significant collective seizures in modern Nigerian times, as reported by a religious organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in School Facilities

The Friday morning attack on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state occurred just days after gunmen stormed a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state, taking 25 young women.

Initial reports had indicated 227 victims were seized, but revised figures surfaced after a thorough verification exercise determined that 303 pupils and 12 educators had been abducted.

The kidnapped children, ranging between eight and 18 years, constitute nearly 50 percent of the school's overall student population of 629.

Official Response and Safety Measures

State officials have confirmed that intelligence departments and law enforcement are presently conducting a thorough assessment to verify the precise number of abducted people.

In reaction to the increasing security concerns, the local authorities has directed the shutting of all schools in the state, with nearby states following comparable precautionary measures.

Furthermore, the federal education ministry has ordered the temporary closure of 47 residential high schools throughout the country.

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

Recent Violent Incidents

The school kidnappings constitute the latest in a series of security incidents that have rocked the country, including an assault on a church in western Nigeria where gunmen shot dead two individuals and seized dozens congregation members during a live-streamed service.

These incidents have occurred against the backdrop of international focus on Nigeria's security situation.

Past Background

Nigeria remains scarred by the legacy of the large-scale kidnapping of almost 300 female students by extremist 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 groups, a distraught school staff member described hearing the noise of motorcycles and vehicles before hearing "forceful banging" on multiple entrances of the school premises.

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

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

Citizen Reaction and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the outskirts of Abuja, worried guardians were collecting their students from educational institutions following the closure order.

One parent, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her disbelief at the magnitude of the kidnapping, questioning how 300 students could be abducted simultaneously.

She stated that the "authorities is failing to act to curb insecurity," and expressed approval for external assistance to "salvage this situation."

Ongoing Safety Challenges

For years, heavily armed bandit groups have been carrying out murders and abductions for ransom in remote areas of northwest and middle Nigeria, where government control is limited.

While nobody has taken credit for the latest incidents, bandit gangs demanding ransom payments often target schools in countryside locations where protection is inadequate.

These groups maintain bases in vast woodland areas straddling several states in the west of Nigeria.

While these bandits have no political motives and are mainly motivated by monetary profit, their growing alliance with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a significant cause of concern for authorities and security analysts alike.