Niger (MNN) — There is major reason to praise God today, as missionary pilot Kevin Rideout has been released after nine months of captivity. U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday that Rideout was in United States custody. 

Christian missionary organization SIM, the ministry Rideout worked with, put out a statement welcoming back their friend and brother. This is truly an answer to prayer for Christians around the globe. 

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Illia Djadi, a West Africa expert with Open Doors International, says that Rideout was kidnapped outside his home in Niamey, the capital of Niger, in October 2025. He had been working in Niger for two decades. 

Djadi says, “Christians in Niger form only one percent of the population. So the Christians there — they know each other. His kidnapping was well-known, and the church has been praying for his release.”

So far, the circumstances surrounding how or why Rideout was released are unclear. President Trump wrote that he was “glad to have helped” on Truth Social. Reports say Rideout is in good health and is being reunited with his family. 

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, even now, but Djadi says we can make an educated guess. 

“There are two main Islamic groups operating there. We can only assume he had been kidnapped by armed men and eventually detained probably by one of these groups,” Djadi says. 

The two main terrorist groups in Niger are ISIS and Al-Qaeda affiliates, respectively.

Pray for Niger

Image courtesy of Open Doors USA

“All this is happening in the context of insecurity and violent persecution happening in the Sahel region and affecting the Christian minority in Niger,” Djadi says. 

Niger is under the rule of a military junta. It recently swore in an unelected president under a new five-year charter and appears to be consolidating power. The country faces increasing terrorist violence, despite the junta’s promise of protection, and Christians are often the targets. But the release of Rideout shows that God is still working.

“We thank God for this news of his safe release, and we are praying for a safe return of him to his family now,” Djadi says. “So we rejoice, and we continue to pray for protection for all the missionaries who are still serving in Niger and for the Christian minority in Niger.” 

Pray for the church to be resilient and continue to serve Christ and their communities despite the danger in Niger and the Sahel region.

 

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