American missionary kidnapped in Niger free after nearly one year
A U.S. Christian missionary in niger, Kevin Rideout, has been released after nearly 10 months in captivity. Kidnapped outside his home in Niamey on October 21, 2025, he was taken to a region known for militant activity. According to SIM International, he is in good health and in the care of U.S. officials, and his family is expected to reunite with him soon. Rideout had served as a missionary in Niger for 19 years and was a pilot for SIM International. His release was not achieved through a military rescue but through other means, possibly influenced by U.S.military pressure on Islamic State-affiliated groups in the region,including targeted operations against ISIS leaders. The kidnapping occurred near the presidential palace amid Niger’s political upheaval following a military coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
A Christian missionary from the United States in Niger has been released after being kidnapped in the African country’s capital roughly 10 months ago, according to his mission organization.
SIM International announced Friday that Kevin Rideout “is in good health in the care of U.S. officials.” Rideout was kidnapped outside his home in Niamey on Oct. 21, 2025, by three armed individuals, according to the Christian mission organization based in South Carolina. He was then taken to the western Tillabéri region, a location known as a hotbed of militant activity, according to Reuters.
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“He will soon be reunited with Krista, his children, and his extended family,” SIM International’s statement said. “Krista and the rest of Kevin’s family are profoundly grateful for the prayers offered on their behalf by people around the world throughout his captivity, and in particular for the deep level of prayer and support offered by our SIM family.”
Rideout had worked as a missionary in Niger for 19 years and was a pilot for SIM International, which operates in over 70 countries, according to the New York Times. His release was not the result of a military rescue operation but “by other means,” a U.S. official told the outlet, which reported he is now in FBI custody after his case was a major priority for the White House and for the military’s Africa Command.
The official linked Rideout’s release to U.S. military pressure on the Islamic State in Nigeria, Niger’s southern neighbor, in recent months. In May, President Donald Trump said that American and Nigerian forces had killed Abu Bilal al-Minuki, a high-ranking Islamic State leader in Lake Chad, which intersects Nigeria and Niger. The official said that the raid had helped influence the kidnappers’ decision to release Rideout.
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The missionary was kidnapped around 100 yards from the presidential palace in Niamey, where ousted President Mohamed Bazoum had been held since he was toppled by a coup in July 2023, according to CBS News.
The coup brought General Abdourahamane Tiani to power, with his military junta overseeing a country beset with violence and abductions such as Rideouts’.
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