The youngest among them is 14 years old, from Imo State.
Three pregnant girls have been rescued from suspected child traffickers in Umunze, a community in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, South-east Nigeria.
Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, a media aide to the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in the state, Ify Obinabo, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
The development occurred about one week after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency rescued five pregnant teenage girls said to be victims of child trafficking in Imo, another state in the South-east.
Ms Ikeanyionwu said the latest incident happened after operatives of the Anambra Vigilante Group in the council area conducted a three-month investigation into the activities of the syndicate.
The media aide said the investigation was led by the chairperson of the council area, Neville Uchendu, who handed over the girls to Mrs Obinabo, the commissioner.
She said the three girls were between 14 and 20 years old and that a suspected trafficker, Oruchukwu Okoroafor, had been arrested by the vigilante operatives.
A 14-year-old girl among those rescued hails from Arondizuogu in Imo State, while the second girl, 19, is from Ihite, in Orumba South Council Area of Anambra State - all in South-east Nigeria.
The third girl, 20, is from Bayelsa State, South-south Nigeria.
Mrs Obinabo, while receiving the girls and the suspect, expressed joy over the development, Ms Ikeanyionwu said.
The commissioner noted that the state government was pleased with the operatives for the rescue and called on others to emulate the council chairperson and his team in making the state proud.
Job after childbirth
The rescued girls, according to the statement, said the suspect was not responsible for their pregnancies and that he only offered to shelter them at his house until they had delivered their babies.
They also said the suspect had promised to secure jobs for them as soon as they gave birth, an offer they gladly accepted.
'N300, 000 for each unborn baby'
Mr Okoroafor, upon interrogation, confessed that he had been in the "baby factory" and child trafficking business for the past two years and that the rescued girls were his first set for the 'business' in 2023.
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The suspect said some persons, whom he apparently brought, had promised to pay the girls N300,000 each to buy their unborn babies.
He, however, denied having contacts of the potential buyers.
The commissioner handed over the suspect to the police in the state for further investigations, the statement said.
She assured that the suspect would be prosecuted in line with the law.
'Baby factories' in Nigeria
"Baby factory," sometimes disguised as an orphanage, is a name given to a facility where traffickers hold women, mostly teenagers, against their will, rape and force them to get pregnant. The newborns at the facility are then sold illegally.
Girls in such a facility are sometimes forced into child labour and prostitution.
A recent investigation uncovered how a supposed Christian orphanage in Anambra State, another state in the South-east, was illegally selling babies between N1.5 million and N2 million, depending on a baby's gender.
The investigation also revealed how the sales were executed with the collusion of the officials of the Nigerian police and the judiciary.
Girls in such a facility are sometimes forced into child labour and prostitution.
A recent investigation uncovered how a supposed Christian orphanage in Anambra State, another state in the South-east, was illegally selling babies between N1.5 million and N2 million, depending on a baby's gender.
The investigation also revealed how the sales were executed with the collusion of the officials of the Nigerian police and the judiciary.
