Nigeria, Nov. 22 -- Amidst a deteriorating security climate and a surge in coordinated attacks on educational institutions especially in Northern Nigeria, the Katsina and Plateau state governments have ordered the immediate closure of schools.

The directives were issued Friday, hours after the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirmed that 227 pupils and teachers were abducted by terrorists from a Catholic school in Niger State.

The closures also follow a similar directive by the federal government, which ordered the immediate shutdown of 47 Federal Unity Colleges-mostly in the North-citing the safety of students.

In Katsina, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Yusuf Jibia, announced the closure of all boarding a...