Trump confirms release of US missionary kidnapped in Niger

(AFP) — Kevin Rideout, a U.S. missionary who was kidnapped in Niger last year, has been released, President Donald Trump confirmed Friday.

News of Rideout’s release was first announced by the Christian group he worked for, SIM International, which said he had been kidnapped outside his home in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, last October.

“I am proud to announce that Kevin Rideout, a wonderful Christian Missionary, is back in United States Custody,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network.

“Kevin was kidnapped by Jihadi terrorists in West Africa,” Trump said, without offering further details.

SIM International said Rideout was “in good health in the care of US officials,” adding that he would soon be reunited with his family.

The Trump administration had made Rideout’s release a priority in its latest strategy toward African Sahel states after years of efforts to combat extremism met with limited success.

Niger, governed by a military junta for three years, has been plagued by jihadist violence and saw a spate of kidnappings of Westerners last year.

Wamaps, a collective of journalists in West Africa, said last year that Rideout was “abducted just a few streets away from the presidential palace right in the city center in a zone which hosts international organizations.”

At one point, he was believed to be held in neighboring Mali by the Sahel branch of the Islamic State group.

But it was unclear which group held Rideout at the end of his captivity because he may have been moved, The New York Times reported, citing an unidentified U.S. official.

The Times, which first reported Rideout’s release, said the 50-year-old American had worked as a missionary in Niger for 19 years and was a pilot for SIM International.

SIM International describes itself as “an evangelical mission agency, working with churches around the world,” with teams in more than 70 countries.

Nigerien authorities did not immediately issue a statement.

Following Rideout’s kidnapping, the U.S. State Department revised its travel advisory for Niger to the highest level, where it remains.

“Do not travel to Niger for any reason due to crime, unrest, terrorism, health, and kidnapping,” the travel advisory read.

In October 2020, U.S. missionary Philip Walton was kidnapped in Massalata, a village 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Niamey, near the Nigerian border.

He was freed the same month following an intervention by U.S. special forces in northern Nigeria.

U.S. humanitarian worker Jeffery Woodke was kidnapped by jihadists in southwestern Niger in October 2016 and freed in 2023.

“Kevin, the United States of America looks forward to welcoming you HOME. Glad to have helped!” Trump said.