Last month, President Buhari said the government remained "in constant touch through negotiations, through local intelligence to secure the release of the remaining girls and other abducted persons unharmed". The 82 freed Chibok schoolgirls arrived in Nigeria's capital on Sunday to meet President Muhammadu Buhari as anxious families awaited an official list of names and looked forward to reuniting three years after the mass abduction.
(AP Photo/ Sunday Alamba).
Buhari said this while formally receiving the rescued girls behind closed doors at his official residence inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Associated Press reports five Boko Haram commanders were freed in the swap.
The young women were flown Sunday by military helicopters from northeastern Nigeria to Abuja.
"On behalf of all Nigerians, I will like to share my joy with you, your parents, your relatives, friends and the Government of Borno State on regaining your freedom".
Boko Haram's seven-year uprising has killed more than 20,000 people and driven 2.6 million from their homes. Now they will be able to verify if they should make the journey. Now 113 remain unaccounted for.
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There was no comment yet from the Nigerian presidency or Boko Haram, an extremist group linked to the Islamic State.
Minutes later, the 74-year-old Buhari startled Africa's most populous nation with the news of his departure.
The welcome ceremony of the girls with the president came shortly before the 74-year-old leader left for the United Kingdom for a medical consultation amid concerns over his health. The exact nature of his illness is still unclear.
Shehu Sani, a Nigerian senator who had been involved in previous negotiations with Boko Haram, said the girls were mostly "in good condition" and that talks to secure their release had lasted for "almost three to four months".
Two days after the release of additional 82 girls kidnapped from GGSS Chibok in Borno State, credible sources told the Daily Trust yesterday that the third part of negotiations for release of more of girls has commenced.
"It's not just to bring them back home, we must ensure that they get the education they are supposed to have", she said.
Their kidnapping from their school near Chibok in north east Nigeria caught global attention and the campaign #Bring back our Girls was set up and supported by celebrities and political figures around the world.
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