Nearly two months after an American missionary pilot was abducted from his home in Niamey, Niger, concern is mounting among local Christians who say there has been little public information about efforts to secure his release.
“[This] leaves a feeling of apprehension, fear and uncertainty,” Father Augustine Anwuchie, a Nigerian Fidei Donum priest serving in the Diocese of Maradi, told OSV News in a recent interview. “This case seems to be taking longer, and no one knows the culprits nor the whereabouts of the victim.”
The kidnapped missionary, Kevin Rideout, is a 48-year-old husband and father who was serving with the U.S.-based organization Serving In Mission (SIM) when he was taken in October.
According to Radio France Internationale, Rideout was reportedly abducted on Oct. 21 by three men near the Grand Bravia Hotel in central Niamey, just a short distance from the presidential palace, despite the area’s heavy security.
According to The Christian Post, a source working with SIM in Niger, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that information has been limited even among colleagues on the ground.
“Until now, we haven’t heard [much about] the news of the kidnapped pilot. We only heard he was kidnapped. … We don’t know the name of the group that kidnapped him yet,” the source said.
Officials with the U.S. State Department in Niamey have previously described Rideout’s release as a “top priority for the Trump Administration,” but The Washington Post reported last month that strained diplomatic ties with Niger — a predominantly Muslim nation facing growing Islamic State influence — have complicated rescue efforts.
Rideout’s long history of humanitarian aviation work in West Africa was highlighted in a 2014 profile by The Wellesley Townsman, which noted that both Kevin and his brother Ian served as pilots with SIM, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“The brothers fly mission personnel and equipment and supplies within Niger and across west Africa, helping to facilitate the work of numerous organizations in one of the world's least developed countries,” the report said.
“Their work involves supporting drilling wells to provide clean water; aiding refugees from war-torn countries; reforestation and land reclamation projects; hospitals; aiding flood victims; teaching literacy; enabling widows to start micro enterprises or caring for orphans, all bringing hope to people across the region.”
