🔗 Share this article

Gunmen have seized over 300 schoolchildren and staff in one of the most significant collective seizures in recent Nigerian history, as stated by a Christian organization on the weekend.

Growing Crisis in Educational Facilities

The Friday morning assault on St Mary's mixed-gender school in Niger state happened just days after armed men attacked a high school in adjacent Kebbi state, seizing 25 young women.

Initial accounts had stated 227 victims were seized, but new numbers emerged after a detailed verification exercise established that 303 pupils and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

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

Government Response and Safety Measures

Local officials have announced that security departments and police are currently performing a comprehensive census to establish the precise number of abducted individuals.

In reaction to the growing safety fears, the local authorities has directed the closure of every schools in the state, with nearby states following similar precautionary actions.

Furthermore, the national education ministry has directed the provisional closure of 47 residential high schools throughout the country.

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

Recent Security Incidents

The school abductions constitute the most recent in a sequence of safety breaches that have rocked the nation, including an attack on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where assailants shot dead two people and seized dozens worshipers during a live-streamed service.

These incidents have occurred against the background of global attention on Nigeria's safety situation.

Historical Context

Nigeria remains scarred by the memory of the mass kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with several of those victims still unaccounted for.

Eyewitness Testimonies

In a disturbing video clip shared by religious groups, a frightened school staff member recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and cars before experiencing "forceful banging" on multiple entrances of the school premises.

"Students were crying," the staff member said, recounting her fear while looking for keys to the section where the crying was loudest.

The local Catholic authority stated that the "attackers operated aggressively and without interruption for nearly three hours, searching dormitories."

Public Response and Fears

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

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, expressed her disbelief at the magnitude of the abduction, asking how 300 students could be taken at once.

She concluded that the "authorities is failing to act to combat the security crisis," and voiced approval for international assistance to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Safety Issues

For a long time, heavily armed criminal gangs have been carrying out killings and kidnappings for ransom in rural areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where government control is limited.

While no group has taken credit for the latest attacks, bandit gangs demanding financial compensation often target schools in countryside locations where protection is weak.

These gangs maintain bases in vast forest areas straddling several states in the west of Nigeria.

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