French journalist Olivier Dubois was released nearly two years after he was kidnapped by jihadists in Mali, and arrived at Niamey airport in Niger on Monday, alongside another American hostage held since 2016.
Smiling and visibly moved, Olivier Dubois was accompanied on his descent from the plane of Jeffery Woodke, a Christian humanitarian who had been kidnapped on October 14, 2016 in Niger.
“I feel tired, but I’m fine,” said the 48-year-old French journalist as he got off the plane, after giving brief hugs to the reporters present.
Olivier Dubois, of whom it is not known whether he remained in Mali for the entire duration of his detention, was the only recorded French hostage not held by a State in the world since the release in October 2020 of Sophie Pétronin, also kidnapped in the mali.
“It’s huge for me to be here, to be free, I wanted to pay tribute to Niger for its know-how in this delicate mission and to pay tribute to France and to all those who allowed me to be here today,” he added.
He also wanted to say “a big thank you” to Radio France Internationale (RFI), which broadcast monthly messages of support from those close to him.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his “tremendous relief” on Monday, and expressed his “great gratitude to Niger for this release”, after speaking to the journalist on the phone.
The latter will “soon be back in France”, according to a press release from the Elysée.
“Recovered safe and sound”
Alongside Olivier Dubois, on Monday, Jeffery Woodke, white hair and supported by a cane, wished “to thank the[s] government[s] Nigerian, American and French”.
“Long live France”, exclaimed the man who had been helping nomadic populations for thirty years with an NGO in Abalak, in central Niger, when he was kidnapped.
The White House said it was “relieved” of this release in a press release.
“The hostages were recovered safe and sound by the Niger authorities before being handed over to the French and American authorities,” Niger Interior Minister Hamadou Souley said at the airport.
Olivier Dubois, a freelance journalist, was kidnapped on April 8, 2021 in Gao, in northern Mali, by GSIM, the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel, linked to Al-Qaeda.
He collaborated with Release And Pointhad been living and working in Mali since 2015 when he was kidnapped.
He had himself announced his abduction in a video posted on social networks on May 5, 2021.
After almost a year of silence, a second video of Olivier Dubois, 48, was released on March 13, 2022 on social networks, with no indication of the date on which the images had been shot.
“Just amazing”
“It’s just incredible, it’s something we’ve been waiting for two years. For him, the nightmare is over, and for his family too. He will be able to resume his life, even if it will be difficult for him to forget that, ”Olivier Dubois’ sister, Canèle Bernard, told AFP.
On Monday, the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) expressed its “tremendous relief”.
“We had had reassuring news on several occasions in recent months, and again very recently: he seemed in good shape, but the length of his captivity worried us”, commented the secretary general of RSF, Christophe Deloire, questioned by the AFP.
The writing of the daily Releasewith whom Olivier Dubois collaborated, also expressed his “tremendous joy”.
Mali, like its neighbors Niger and Burkina Faso, is going through a serious security crisis with recurrent jihadist attacks.
Kidnappings are one of the serious dangers faced by journalists and humanitarians, whether local or foreign.
Two employees of the Malian branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross kidnapped between Gao and Kidal, in northern Mali, two weeks ago were also released on Sunday evening.
At least three Western hostages are still being held in the Sahel: Australian surgeon Arthur Kenneth Elliott, kidnapped in Burkina Faso on January 15, 2016, and Romanian security officer Iulian Ghergut, kidnapped on April 4, 2015 in Burkina Faso. A German cleric, Father Hans-Joachim Lohre, who has not been heard from since November 2022, is considered to have been kidnapped in Mali.