Nigerian officials probe plan to marry off scores of female orphans

A 2021 report from Save the Children International showed that 48 percent of girls in northern Nigeria get married before the age of 15. [AFP]

Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Women Affairs says it is investigating a plan by a lawmaker in central Niger state to marry off some 100 female orphans of unknown ages later this month.

Speaker of the Niger State Assembly Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji announced the mass wedding last week but called off the ceremony following widespread outrage.