A group of 158 women and children returned home after being kidnapped by Boko Haram militants in northeastern Nigeria in December, BBC News reported.

The girls were handed over to the state authorities for counseling and rehabilitation after their reunion on Thursday at the state capital, Damaturu.

About 62 of the abductees were married women while the rest were children. Boko Haram killed about 16 of the women's husbands during the kidnapping.

"I had given up when they were kidnapped; my hope was to see even their dead bodies," Muhammdu Katarko said after being reunited with his two daughters. "But fortunately I have now seen them alive, healthy and hearty."

An abductee who wished to not be identified said the militants treated the girls well and did not rape or abuse any of them.

It is not yet clear on how the abductees gained their freedom, but some reports suggest they may have been released voluntarily.

Musa Idi Jidawa, the secretary of Yobe's State Emergency Management Agency, suggested the militants were attacked by security forces and were forced to leave the abductees behind.

The jihadi group kidnapped over 200 students from Chibok last year creating a worldwide uproar leading to a campaign demanding their safe return, The Globe and Mail reported.

They were never returned and mostly married off while a few were able to escape from captivity.

About 21 of the girls are now back at school studying to be doctors, teachers and engineers at an elite private institution in the city of Yola where they have also received scholarships.

Many of the girls are still traumatized by the kidnapping, and some of their parents refused to send them back to school.

The 158 abductees freed this week will stay in Damaturu until it is safe to return to their village, which is currently occupied by Boko Haram.

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