Video - Nigerian Muslims may be forced to miss Hajj pilgrimage

Thousands of Nigerian Muslims could be prevented from taking part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage. This is after Saudi Arabian authorities said they may block them from entering the country due to a deadly Lassa fever outbreak in their country. It's the worst outbreak of the haemorragic fever on record in the West African nation.

Video - Nigerian lawmakers miss another deadline to pass 2018 budget

There has been yet another delay in passing Nigeria's 2018 budget. The National Assembly has missed a self-imposed deadline for a third time. Lawmakers have repeatedly pushed back the date for approving the 2018 spending plan -- claiming it's heavily padded and riddled with inaccuracies.

Baby factory raided in Lagos, Nigeria

More than 160 children have been rescued from a "baby factory" and two unregistered orphanages in Nigeria's main city, Lagos, an official has said.

Some of the babies and children had been sexually abused, Agboola Dabiri added.

It is not uncommon for Nigerian authorities to raid "baby factories".

In some cases, unmarried pregnant women are promised healthcare, only for their children to be taken away. In others, women are raped and made pregnant.

The babies can be sold for adoption, used for child labour, trafficked to Europe for prostitution or killed for ritual purposes.

In February, Lagos police told local media they had uncovered a case where a pregnant woman went to a private home to have her baby delivered - only for the baby to be taken away and sold.

Speaking after the latest raids, Mr Dabiri, the Commissioner for Youths and Social Development in Lagos State, said 100 girls and 62 boys had been rescued.

"The children and teenagers rescued from the 'baby factory' and homes were placed at government-approved homes for care and protection," he added.

In 2013, 17 pregnant teenagers and 11 babies were rescued from a house in south-eastern Imo state. The girls said they had been raped by one man.

In 2012, a UK judge raised concerns about "desperate childless parents" being caught up in baby-selling scams in Nigeria.

There was evidence that women were going to Nigeria seeking fertility treatment, then being sold unwanted babies, the judge said.

BBC

Video - Attack on church in Nigeria leaves 19 dead

At least 19 people were killed Tuesday after gunmen opened fire at a church in Nigeria's Middle Belt, police said.

 
Two priests and 17 worshippers were killed when armed men, believed to be cattle herders, stormed a Catholic church during early morning Mass on Tuesday in a remote village in Benue state.
State police spokesman Terver Akase told CNN the attackers, thought to be Fulani herdsmen, set many homes on fire.

 
"The herdsmen burnt nearly 50 houses during the attack and sacked the entire community, " Akase told CNN. "We expect arrests to be made because they (attackers) are becoming more brazen," he added.

According to Akase, 10 residents were killed by armed men a few days before Tuesday's attack.
Violent clashes between the Fulani herdsmen, who are mostly Muslims, and farmers, who are predominantly Christians, in the central state dates to 2013, according to local media reports.
Cattle herders have evicted farmers by initiating deadly attacks in Nigeria's Middle Belt, media reports say.

At least 72 people were killed in January following weeks of clashes between nomadic herdsmen and farmers in the central part of the West African country.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari who visited the state last month to console families and communities that suffered from violent clashes, vowed those involved in Tuesday's attack will be apprehended and brought to justice.

"This latest assault on innocent persons is particularly despicable. Violating a place of worship, killing priests and worshippers is not only vile, evil and satanic, it is clearly calculated to stoke up religious conflict and plunge our communities into endless bloodletting," Buhari said in a tweet.

A local Benue group expressed concerns over the increased spate of killings, calling for an "end to senseless slaughter of unarmed defenseless people" in the country.

"We call on all humane persons and groups around the world to come to the aid of our farming and worship communities and end these terror attacks across Nigeria and especially in Benue, our food basket, which also threatens our collective food security," the Benue Valley Professional Network said in a statement.

CNN

Video - Nigerian braided wigs offer hairstylists a share in the hair market

And to the fashion industry, African women spend billions of dollars annually on hair products. Nigeria is one of the biggest spenders in the continent. The west Africa giant spends more than $400 million but with hardly any product to sell in the lucrative beauty market. But the emergence of locally made braided wigs could offer a rare chance for Nigerian hairstylists to earn a share of the hair market.