The Nigerian government has confirmed that 110 girls are missing after a Boko Haram school attack in the north-east, following days of silence on the children's fate.
The students from the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, "are so far unaccounted for, after insurgents believed to be from a faction of Boko Haram invaded their school" on February 19, the information ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
The kidnapping has raised questions about the military's repeated claims that the militants are on the verge of defeat after nearly nine years of bitter fighting.
It has also revived memories of the 2014 mass abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok that shook the world.
On the night of February 19, terrified pupils fled the boarding school when heavily armed fighters stormed the town.
The authorities initially denied that any student had been kidnapped.
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On Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari apologised to the girls' families, saying: "This is a national disaster. We are sorry that this could have happened."
Former military ruler Mr Buhari was elected in 2015 on a promise to defeat Boko Haram, after the extremists grew in strength under his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan.
Mr Jonathan was lambasted for his tardy response to the Chibok abduction, which saw 276 girls from the town in Borno state taken in the dead of night.
A teacher at the school, Amsani Alilawan, said there were soldiers in Dapchi until last month, but they were then redeployed.
"One month back, they carry [take away] all soldiers, they transferred them to another side, they leave us without security," he said.
Enraged relatives of the missing girls this week tried to surround the convoy of the state mayor of Yobe, only to be pushed back by the security forces.
The kidnapping is the worst extremist assault to have hit Nigeria since Mr Buhari came to power.
Schools, particularly those with a secular curriculum, have been targeted by Boko Haram, whose name roughly translates from Hausa as "Western education is forbidden".
Boko Haram's quest to establish an extremist state in north-east Nigeria has left at least 20,000 dead and made more than 2.6 million homeless since 2009.
The extremists have increasingly turned to kidnapping for ransom as a way to finance their operations and win back key commanders in prisoner swaps with the Nigerian government.
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Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
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Emergency
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
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