Police in southeastern Nigeria raided a child trafficking facility holding at least 23 children and four pregnant teenagers, a police spokesman said on Thursday.

Officers arrested three people and rescued the children, who were aged between 1 and 4.

Nnamdi Omoni, a police spokesman in Rivers State, said the captors were running what is known locally as a "baby factory", where young women are held until they give birth, and their babies are sold to other families.

"I can assure you that it is not an orphanage centre because if it were so pregnant women ought not to be there," Omoni said.

In September, police in Lagos freed 19 women and girls who had mostly been abducted and impregnated by captors planning to sell their babies. (Reporting by Tife Owolabi; Writing by Libby George; Editing by Alexis Akwagyiram and Giles Elgood)