Lagos, Feb 20 (IANS): The Boko Haram Islamist terrorist group has released 158 women and children abducted from a village in northeastern Nigeria's Yobe state, an official said Friday.

Ahmed Goniri, the state commissioner for justice and chairman of the State Committee on Rehabilitation of Victims of Insurgency, said the victims were released by the Islamist sect members after three weeks of captivity.

The official told reporters that the women and children from Katarko village in Yobe have been reunited with their families in Damaturu, the state capital, according to Xinhua news agency.

The victims were screened by security personnel to authenticate their status while the government provided them with psychological therapy to ease their trauma, Goniri said.

Thousands of people, including women and children, have been killed in the five-year insurgency by Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is currently grappling with several security challenges, including the insurgency by Boko Haram.