Alert: Missionary Kidnapped in Niger, Believed to Be Headed for Area Where ISIS, al-Qaida Are Active
An American missionary pilot, Kevin Rideout, who has served in Niger since 2010 with the agency Serving in Mission (SIM), was kidnapped in Niamey, Niger’s capital. Reports indicate he was taken toward western Niger, an area known for activity by Islamic extremist groups linked to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The kidnapping involved three men and is suspected to be carried out by this extremist group. Rideout’s phone was traced to a region near Mali considered a sanctuary for these militants.
This incident highlights the growing violence targeting Christians across parts of Africa. In Nigeria alone, thousands of Christians have been killed in recent years, with estimates suggesting over 7,000 Christians were martyred in the current year and over 50,000 since 2009. Similar attacks have occurred in other African countries such as Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where militants have killed Christians, destroyed homes and churches, and displaced communities.U.S. officials and representatives have called for urgent action to address and protect persecuted Christian communities amid this widespread violence.
An American missionary has been kidnapped in Niger, with some reports saying he could be headed to areas where extremists who support the Islamic State and al-Qaida are based.
Kevin Rideout was kidnapped in Niamey, Niger’s capital. He is a pilot for the agency Serving in Mission, according to Reuters.
The missionary was taken toward the western part of the country, where Islamic extremists are active. Niger is located south of Algeria and Libya, north of Nigeria, and is flanked by Mali to the west and Chad to the east.
Three men were involved in the kidnapping, security sources indicated, according to CBS News.
Rideout had been working in Niger since 2010, according to social media reports.
🚨 American Missionary Pilot Abducted in Niger
Gunmen have kidnapped American missionary pilot Kevin Rideout in Niamey, the capital of Niger Republic.
Rideout, who has served in Niger since 2010, works with SIM International through its local affiliate Missionary Flights Global… pic.twitter.com/M2HFF8ME3b
— Christian Warrior (@christianfiveoh) October 23, 2025
The CBS report said the kidnapping was thought to be the work of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.
The missionary’s phone was tracked to an area “considered a sanctuary for groups affiliated with the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara” toward the neighboring nation of Mali, sources said.
Attacks on Christians are becoming common in Africa.
“We are dying”
A grief stricken Nigerian pastor burying members of his congregation sends a message to the US senate and the UN.
It is estimated that 100,000+ Nigerian Christian’s have been massacred since 2009. pic.twitter.com/sj6seGFfkC
— Fanatic 🇺🇸 (@crusade_enjoyer) October 19, 2025
Republican Rep. Riley Moore of West Virginia has alleged that more than 7,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria this year, according to a news release on his website.
“Nigeria has become the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian. Just this year, a priest was kidnapped and murdered on Ash Wednesday and 54 Christians were martyred on Palm Sunday. 7,000 Christians have been martyred this year alone. More than 50,000 Christians have been murdered since 2009,” he wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for action to protect Chstitians.
“The United States cannot stand idly by while believers are slaughtered. We must acknowledge the religious nature of this scourge of anti-Christian violence from radical Islamic terrorists. It’s time for the United States to defend our brothers and sisters in Christ,” he wrote.
In June, an estimated 200 Christians were killed in Nigeria, according to a Catholic charity. The massacre in Nigeria’s Benue State targeted internally displaced families living in shelters, Aid to the Church in Need reported.
The attack took place with attackers shouting “Allahu Akhbar” (a Muslim phrase meaning “God is great”), before indiscriminate killing began.
In Mozambique, recent attacks have left 20 people dead, 1,300 homes and two churches destroyed, and left 2,000 Christians homeless, according to the website Open Doors.
Earlier this year, reports alleged that 70 Christians were murdered by ISIS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to Genocide Watch.
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