82 released Chibok Girls meet Nigeria's Buhari in Abuja

The 82 schoolgirls released by Islamist militant group Boko Haram on Saturday have met Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja Sunday.

The girls were received on behalf of the president at the Abuja airport by the Chief of Staff Abba Kyari when they descended from a Nigerian air force military carrier.

A happy site for families missing loved ones: Some of the 82 released #ChibokGirls board an aircraft. pic.twitter.com/9yiJOUocQe

— ICRC Africa (@ICRC_Africa) May 7, 2017

“82 Chibok girls now in Abuja. Received on behalf of the President at the airport by Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abba Kyari. Congrats Nigeria,” the president’s special adviser Femi Adesina tweeted.

82 Chibok girls now in Abuja. Received on behalf of the President at the airport by Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abba Kyari. Congrats Nigeria.

— Femi Adesina (@FemAdesina) May 7, 2017

They were driven in a military convoy to the state house to meet the president.

The girls were flown from the Borno state capital Maiduguri where they spent the night after their release from a town near the Cameroon border.

The Nigerian government said the girls were released in exchange for Boko Haram militants held by the authorities.

The release of the 82 comes a few weeks after marking three years since the girls were abducted from their school in Chibok town in Borno state.

Until their release, 195 girls were estimated to be in the hands of the terrorist group led by Abubakar Shekau.

113 girls are currently unaccounted for.