Nigeria’s athletes to the just concluded 2016 Rio Paralympics held in Brazil arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Sunday to a heroic welcome from Nigerians.
Prior to the arrival of the athletes, many of their fans had been at the airport for hours singing and dancing to get a glimpse of the victorious Paralympic team.
When the team finally arrived, the crowd went into joyous mood while many of the supporters went to the athletes to have handshake or take picture with them.
Below are some of the pictures taken at the scene:
Team Nigeria’s performance at the Paralympics with 12 medals, eight of which were gold medals, earned them the highest-ranked nation in Africa, positioned 12th in the overall medals table.
Nigeria leads the whole of Africa, Tunisia is second at a distant 20th Position, followed by South Africa at 22nd position.
Speaking on behalf of the Sports Minister, an official of the Sports Ministry, Luca Jonathan Mangset, who was also at the airport, said Nigerians were proud of the athletes.
Mr. Mangset said a more elaborate event will be held to celebrate the Paralympians.
The assistant captain of the Nigerian team, Esther Oyema, said she and her teammates were very happy with the welcome they received.
Esther, who won silver in the Powerlifting Women’s -55 kg category in Rio, said she and her colleagues were motivated to do better at the next competition.
Apart from the eight gold medals, the team also won two silver and two bronze medals setting six new World Records in the process.
