US Missionary Kevin Rideout Released After Nine Months In Niger Captivity

American missionary Kevin Rideout has been released after spending more than nine months in captivity in Niger.

Rideout’s organisation, SIM International, said on Friday that he was in good health and in the care of United States officials. Punch and Vanguard both reported the release, identifying him as a Christian missionary who had been abducted in Niger in October 2025.

The reports said Rideout was taken outside his home in Niamey by three armed men and later moved towards the Tillaberi region, an area affected by militant activity near Niger’s western border.

SIM International said he would be reunited with his family. Vanguard reported that SIM International director Phil Bauman confirmed the release, while Punch reported that The New York Times cited unnamed US officials as saying Rideout was in FBI custody.

Details of how he was freed and who held him were still unclear in the reports. They said there had been concern that armed groups active in Niger, including groups linked to Islamic State or al-Qaeda, may have been involved in the abduction.

The case drew attention because Niger has faced repeated militant attacks and strained relations with Western governments since the military takeover in 2023. Rideout’s release closes a months-long captivity case, but the reports did not give details of any arrest or ransom.

Sources: Punch, Vanguard