In a brazen attack on Thursday (March 7), gunmen stormed a public educational institution in the northern Nigerian city of Curiga, kidnapping a total of 287 students. Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants, armed and riding motorcycles, entered the school premises in the morning and began firing indiscriminately before seizing the students.

The incident marks one of the largest mass kidnappings in Nigeria since 2021 and underscores the persistent security challenges facing the country. Reports suggest that militant groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State are suspected to be behind these abductions, although no group has claimed responsibility for this latest attack.

According to eyewitnesses, the students were playing in the school playground when the armed gunmen suddenly arrived and unleashed chaos. The gunmen swiftly rounded up the students and abducted them from the school, leaving the community in shock and anguish.

Kidnappings for ransom have become distressingly common in Nigeria, particularly in the northern regions, where criminal gangs and extremist groups operate with impunity. The abduction of hundreds of students from a single school is a chilling reminder of the grave security threats facing the country's education system and the vulnerability of its youth.

Authorities have yet to provide further details on the whereabouts of the abducted students or any efforts to secure their safe release. The incident has sparked outrage and renewed calls for urgent action to address the escalating insecurity in Nigeria and protect its citizens, particularly its children, from such heinous acts of violence.