American humanitarian worker Jeff Woodke, kidnapped in Niger in 2016, is released

Author: Editors Desk Source: USA Today

March 20, 2023 at 12:18

Olivier Dubois, a French journalist who was abducted in Mali's Gao region (north) on April 8, 2021 by the al Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), was released on Monday and taken to neighbouring Niger. Dubois's release came as US hostage Jeff Woodke was freed after more than six years in captivity in Africa.

WASHINGTON – An American humanitarian worker who was kidnapped in the West African nation of Niger has been freed.

Jeffery Woodke was freed after six years of captivity, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced on Twitter.

“The U.S. thanks Niger for its help in bringing him home to all who miss & love him,” Sullivan wrote. “I thank so many across our government who’ve worked tirelessly toward securing his freedom.”

No other details of Woodke’s release were disclosed.

Woodke kidnapped from home in Niger

French journalist Olivier Dubois, freed nearly two years after he was kidnapped in Mali, and American Jeffery Woodke, released after being kidnapped in October 2016 in Niger, arrive at the Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger.

A senior Biden administration official who briefed reporters Monday on condition of anonymity described the release as the culmination of years of effort but declined to say what exactly led to him being freed from captivity or where he is now.

The official said no ransom was paid and no concession was made to captors.

Woodke was kidnapped from his home in Abalak, Niger, in October 2016 by men who ambushed and killed his guards and forced him at gunpoint into their truck, where he was driven north toward Mali’s border. Though he was believed to have been abducted by a West African affiliate of the Islamic State group, Woodke was thought to be in Africa’s vast Sahel region and held by JNIM, a West African affiliate of al-Qaida.

Woodke had been doing humanitarian aid work in Niger for more than 30 years.

Michael Collins covers the White House. Follow him on Twitter @mcollinsNEWS.