Source: God Reports, March 22, 2023
After more than six years in captivity in West Africa, longtime American Christian aid worker Jeff Woodke has been released.
His wife, Els Woodke, was told Jeff was “in good condition,” according to a statement on a website campaigning for his release. “She has expressed her profound thanks to the many people in governments and others around the world who have worked so hard to see this result,” the statement said. “She praises God for answering the prayers of Christians everywhere who have prayed for this outcome.”
Jeff Woodke was kidnapped from his home in Abalak, northern Niger, on October 14, 2016. His kidnappers, suspected members of a radical Islamic group called Mujao, reportedly took him toward eastern Mali. Since then it appears he has been taken across borders to other nations.
The Christian aid worker was released outside of Niger, in a border area with Mali and Burkina Faso, a US official told The New York Times. He was then moved to Niger’s capital Niamey for medical checks.
Read the full story which includes several links. See also a more recent article from WorldWatch Monitor following a March 31 press conference in which Woodke described how he was treated during captivity.
See also The Sahel: What Does the Future Hold? (Lausanne Movement).