🔗 Share this article

Gunmen have abducted over 300 schoolchildren and staff in one of the biggest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian experience, as stated by a religious organization on the weekend.

Escalating Emergency in Educational Institutions

The Friday morning raid on St Mary's co-educational school in western Nigeria occurred just a short time after gunmen invaded a high school in neighboring Kebbi state, seizing 25 young women.

Earlier reports had suggested 227 victims were seized, but updated figures surfaced after a detailed verification exercise established that 303 students and 12 educators had been abducted.

The abducted students, ranging between eight and 18 years, represent nearly 50 percent of the school's total student body of 629.

Official Reaction and Safety Measures

Local officials have announced that security departments and law enforcement are presently conducting a thorough census to verify the precise number of abducted people.

In reaction to the growing safety fears, the state government has ordered the shutting of every schools in the region, with nearby states adopting similar preventive measures.

Furthermore, the national education ministry has ordered the provisional closure of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

President Bola Tinubu has called off overseas commitments, including participation at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on addressing the crisis.

Recent Security Incidents

The school kidnappings represent the latest in a sequence of security breaches that have rocked the nation, including an attack on a place of worship in the west of Nigeria where assailants shot dead two individuals and seized many worshipers during a online broadcast service.

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

Past Context

Nigeria continues to be scarred by the memory of the large-scale abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok over a decade ago, with some of those victims still unaccounted for.

Firsthand Testimonies

In a concerning video clip shared by Christian organizations, a distraught worker recounted hearing the noise of motorcycles and cars before experiencing "forceful banging" on various gates of the compound.

"Students were weeping," the witness said, recounting 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 uninterrupted for almost three hours, searching dormitories."

Public Reaction and Fears

At the same time, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, worried guardians were collecting their students from educational institutions following the closure order.

One mother, a 40-year-old healthcare worker, voiced her shock at the scale of the kidnapping, asking how 300 students could be abducted simultaneously.

She stated that the "government is failing to act to address the security crisis," and voiced approval for international assistance to "resolve this crisis."

Continuing Security Challenges

For a long time, well-equipped bandit groups have been carrying out killings and kidnappings for ransom in remote areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where state presence is minimal.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the recent incidents, bandit gangs demanding financial compensation frequently attack schools in countryside locations where security is weak.

These gangs maintain bases in extensive woodland areas spanning several states in the west of Nigeria.

While these criminals have no ideological leanings and are mainly driven by monetary profit, their growing cooperation with jihadist groups from the north-east has become a major source of concern for authorities and experts alike.