Captives get big welcome

A GROUP of 82 girls held captive for three years by Islamist militants met Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari a day after they were released in exchange for several militant commanders.

“I cannot express in a few words how happy I am to welcome our dear girls back to freedom,” Mr Buhari told the girls surrounding him in his residency.

“On behalf of all Nigerians, I will like to share my joy with you.”

Their meeting with the president apparently took place before they were reunited with their relatives.

The girls were among a group of 270 schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014 by the militant group Boko Haram, which has waged an eight-year insurgency to create an Islamist caliphate, killing thousands and forcing more than two million from their homes.