The release was made possible after "lengthy negotiations" which saw the Nigerian government agree to an exchange of some Boko Haram prisoners for the schoolgirls.
We would want to commend the government for securing the release of 82 additional Chibok girls from captivity.
"Nobody would be unhappy to hear that the Chibok girls have been released. I am still hopeful that the rest of the abducted girls will also return safe and sound", she said.
The girls were released in great shape with no visible sign of abuse, unlike the other 21 Chibok girls freed previous year, October, who came in poor shape, Shehu told Tribune.
"Parents' involvement is crucial", said Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, a leader of Bring Back Our Girls and head of the Murtala Muhammad Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting the parents of the abducted girls.
Soon after the initial kidnapping, some of the students escaped, and a year ago, 21 girls were released as part of an International Red Cross operation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters. Those girls are in a government rehabilitation camp where they rarely see their families. FILE- In this Monday, May 8, 2017 file photo, Chibok schoolgirls, recently freed from Nigeria extremist captivity, are photographed in Abuja, Nigeria.
The release of the 82 girls followed negotiations led by the Nigerian government; the Swiss government also participated, while the Red Cross provided transportation for the freed girls.
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She added. "I hope and pray that my daughter is among these released girls".
The army gave this assurance on Wednesday at a rally organised by a group known as Africa Arise for Change Network in conjunction with federal capital territory (FCT) market women association in Abuja to mark the release of 82 schoolgirls.
"Welcome our girls, welcome our sisters", Kyari said to the girls, who sat quietly in chairs.
In 2016, one of the Chibok girls Amina Ali escaped from Boko Haram with her husband and child.
The militant group has also kidnapped thousands of other people during their insurgency in the region. But it was the mass kidnapping of 276 girls in April 2014 that horrified the world and brought the extremist group global attention.
Numerous girls have managed to escape or been freed since then, but more than 100 are still missing.
The women's minister said the recently-released 82 would be reunited at another facility in the capital with 24 of their classmates who were released or found a year ago.
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