American citizen held hostage for six years in West Africa freed
Mike Brest
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An American aid worker kidnapped in Niger more than six years ago has been released, according to the Biden administration.
The aid worker, Jeffery Woodke, was kidnapped in October 2016 and then was believed to have been taken to neighboring Mali, though U.S. officials told journalists that he’s now in Niamey, the capital, and is being medically evaluated, according to the New York Times.
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“He is safe,” his wife, Els Woodke, told the New York Times. “I don’t yet know if he is healthy.”
“I’m gratified & relieved to see the release of U.S. hostage Jeff Woodke after over 6 years in captivity. The U.S. thanks Niger for its help in bringing him home to all who miss & love him. I thank so many across our government who’ve worked tirelessly toward securing his freedom,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted on Monday.
The U.S. did not pay a ransom or make any other type of concession, another senior administration official said.
They did not say which terror group held Woodke, though the official referenced “intersecting overlapping terrorist networks in that part of West Africa” that see “kidnapping and hostage-taking as part of their business model frankly, and as a source of revenue and support,” per CNN.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger earlier this month, where he announced $150 million in new humanitarian aid for the region. He said it “will help provide life-saving support to refugees, asylum-seekers, and others impacted by conflict and food insecurity in the region.”
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A French journalist, Olivier Dubois, who went missing in Mali in April 2021, was also released on Monday.
“We are overjoyed and hugely relieved. We had received reassuring news about Olivier Dubois on several occasions in recent months, and again very recently. He seemed to be in good shape but the length of his captivity worried us. We thank the French authorities for doing what was necessary to obtain his release. It is to France’s credit that it does not abandon its citizens when taken hostage, and works to get them freed,” nonprofit organization Reporters Without Borders said in a statement regarding Dubois’s release.