Baby among eight people kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria

Gunmen have kidnapped eight people, including a one-year-old baby, from a hospital in north-western Nigeria.

Two nurses, a laboratory technician and a security guard were among those taken from the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Centre in Zaria, Kaduna state, on Sunday morning.

It is understood the baby belonged to one of the nurses.

Separate reports said two other children aged under three and a teenager were among the missing.

"So far, (there was) no ransom demand," hospital spokesperson Maryam Abdulrazaq told Reuters. "We have not heard from the bandits since they took them away."

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The attack, which lasted an hour, was the third on the hospital.

Armed men from the same group also opened fire on the local police headquarters "in an attempt to overrun the officers on duty”, according to a statement from Kaduna police.

Kidnappings for ransom have plagued northern Nigeria, where more than 200 people abducted from schools and universities remain missing.