A 71-year-old Seattle missionary abducted last month from a school in Nigeria has been released and is safe, the Free Methodist Church USA said Friday. In a statement on the church website, Bishop David Kendall said the Reverend Phyllis Sortor was released Friday evening, Nigeria time, 'into the care of authorities and Free Methodist Church leaders'. Armed men abducted her on February 23 from the Hope Academy compound in Emiworo, Kogi state. Scroll down for video. Phyllis Sortor, 71, was abducted on February 23 from a Christian school in Nigeria. She was released on Friday and is safe. Masked gunman raided a Christian school and fired sporadically to scare people away before taking Sortor hostage. 'We are deeply grateful to all who prayed for Phyllis' safe return and praise God the family representative was able to secure her release,' Kendall said in his statement. He provided no details about how the release was arranged. 'As a matter of sound policy, and to help protect the many, many people who helped secure Phyllis' freedom, we will have no comment concerning the efforts that were undertaken to secure her release,' the bishop said. Kogi State police said shortly after the abduction that the men who took Sortor had demanded a ransom of nearly $300,000. Police said they were collaborating with security forces to secure her return. Friends described Sortor as courageous, tenacious and passionate about helping the people of Nigeria and said she was aware of the dangers. Sortor has been working as a missionary  for ten years. Her friends say she was passionate about helping people in Nigeria and aware of the dangers of working there. She had spent years living in Africa, including Mozambique - where she spent much of her childhood - later working in Rwanda and, since 2005, Nigeria, Kendall said. Her work in Kogi was focused primarily on educational development and conflict resolution between nomadic herdsmen and farming communities who frequently clash in central Nigeria's Middle Belt region, the church statement further said. Foreign nationals have often been kidnapped in Nigeria by local gangs who typically release hostages following a ransom payment. Such abductions are especially common in the southern, oil-producing Niger Delta, where expatriates working with large oil companies have been a frequent target. A number of foreigners have also been kidnapped in the north of the country, but those attacks claimed by Boko Haram or the associated Islamist group Ansaru are considered a different phenomenon, and not necessarily motivated by a desire for ransom. Boko Haram has been blamed for previous attacks in Kogi, including two raids targeting the same prison in 2012 and 2014. Nigeria's Islamists groups have in the past publicly claimed the abduction of expatriates and the lack of such a claim following Sortor's kidnapping led many to believe that Boko Haram and its affiliates were not involved.

What are highlight points for this article?
Masked gunman raided a Christian school and fired sporadically to scare people away before taking Phyllis Sortor hostage on February 23.
Free Methodist Church USA announced she was released on Friday.
Gunmen previously demanded $300,000 for the reverend's release.
Sorter has been working as a missionary for the past ten years.
En 71-årig Seattle missionär bortförd förra månaden från en skola i Nigeria har släppts och är säker, Free Methodist Church USA sade fredag. I ett uttalande på kyrkans webbplats, Biskop David Kendall sade pastor Phyllis Sortor släpptes fredag kväll, Nigeria tid, "i vård av myndigheter och Free Methodist Church ledare". Beväpnade män förde bort henne den 23 februari från Hope Academy-anläggningen i Emiworo, Kogistaten. Scrolla ner för video. Phyllis Sortor, 71 år, bortfördes den 23 februari från en kristen skola i Nigeria. Hon släpptes i fredags och är säker. Maskerad revolverman plundrade en kristen skola och sköt sporadiskt för att skrämma iväg folk innan han tog Sortor som gisslan. 'Vi är djupt tacksamma mot alla som bad för Phyllis' trygga återkomst och prisa Gud familjens representant kunde säkra hennes frigivning,' sade Kendall i sitt uttalande. Han gav inga detaljer om hur utgivningen ordnades. "Som en fråga om sund politik, och för att hjälpa till att skydda de många, många människor som hjälpte till att säkra Phyllis' frihet, kommer vi inte att ha någon kommentar om de ansträngningar som gjordes för att säkra hennes frigivning," sade biskopen. Polisen i Kogi sade kort efter bortförandet att de män som tog Sortor hade krävt en lösensumma på närmare 300 000 dollar. Polisen sa att de samarbetade med säkerhetsstyrkorna för att säkra hennes återkomst. Vänner beskrev Sortor som modig, ihärdig och passionerad över att hjälpa människorna i Nigeria och sade att hon var medveten om farorna. Sortor har arbetat som missionär i tio år. Hennes vänner säger att hon brann för att hjälpa människor i Nigeria och var medveten om farorna med att arbeta där. Hon hade tillbringat flera år i Afrika, bland annat Moçambique - där hon tillbringade mycket av sin barndom - senare arbetat i Rwanda och, sedan 2005, Nigeria, sade Kendall. Hennes arbete i Kogi var främst inriktat på pedagogisk utveckling och konfliktlösning mellan nomadiska herdar och jordbrukarsamhällen som ofta krockar i centrala Nigerias Mellanösternregion, sade kyrkouttalandet vidare. Utländska medborgare har ofta kidnappats i Nigeria av lokala gäng som typiskt släpper gisslan efter en lösensumma. Sådana bortföranden är särskilt vanliga i det södra, oljeproducerande Nigerdeltat, där utlandsstationerade som arbetar med stora oljebolag har varit ett ofta förekommande mål. Ett antal utlänningar har också kidnappats i norra delen av landet, men de attacker som Boko Haram eller den associerade islamistiska gruppen Ansaru hävdar betraktas som ett annat fenomen, och behöver inte nödvändigtvis motiveras av en önskan om lösen. Boko Haram har fått skulden för tidigare attacker i Kogi, bland annat två räder riktade mot samma fängelse 2012 och 2014. Nigerias islamistgrupper har tidigare offentligt hävdat bortförandet av utlandsstationerade och avsaknaden av ett sådant påstående efter Sortors kidnappning fick många att tro att Boko Haram och dess medlemsförbund inte var inblandade. Vad är höjdpunkterna för den här artikeln?
A 71-year-old Seattle missionary abducted last month from a school in Nigeria has been released and is safe, Free Methodist Church USA said Friday. In a statement on the church website, Bishop David Kendall said Rev. Phyllis Sortor was released Friday night, Nigeria time, "in the care of authorities and Free Methodist Church leaders". Armed men abducted her on 23 February from the Hope Academy facility in Emiworo, Kogi State. Scroll down for video. Phyllis Sortor, aged 71, was removed on February 23 from a Christian school in Nigeria. She was released on Friday and is safe. Masked gunman raided a Christian school and shot sporadically to scare people off before taking Sortor hostage. 'We are deeply grateful to all who prayed for Phyllis' safe return and praise God the family representative was able to secure her release,' said Kendall in his statement. He gave no details of how the release was arranged. "As a matter of sound politics, and to help protect the many, many people who helped secure Phyllis' freedom, we will have no comment on the efforts made to secure her release," said the bishop. Kogi police said shortly after the abduction that the men who took Sortor had demanded a ransom of nearly $300,000. Police said they worked with the security forces to secure her return. Friends described Vartor as brave, persistent, and passionate about helping the people of Nigeria, saying she was aware of the dangers. Sortor has worked as a missionary for ten years. Her friends say she was passionate about helping people in Nigeria and was aware of the dangers of working there. She had spent several years in Africa, including Mozambique - where she spent much of her childhood - later worked in Rwanda and, since 2005, Nigeria, Kendall said. Her work in Kogi was primarily focused on educational development and conflict resolution between nomadic shepherds and farming communities that often clash in central Nigeria's Middle East region, the church statement further said. Foreign citizens have often been kidnapped in Nigeria by local gangs who typically release hostages after a ransom. Such abductions are particularly common in the southern, oil-producing Niger Delta, where expatriates working with large oil companies have been a frequent target. A number of foreigners have also been kidnapped in the north of the country, but the attacks claimed by Boko Haram or the associated Islamist group Ansaru are regarded as another phenomenon, and need not necessarily be motivated by a desire for ransom. Boko Haram has been blamed for previous attacks in Kogi, including two raids targeting the same prison in 2012 and 2014. Nigerian Islamist groups have previously publicly claimed the abduction of expatriates and the lack of such a claim following Sortor's kidnapping led many to believe that Boko Haram and its affiliates were not involved. What are the highlights of this article?
Maskerad revolverman plundrade en kristen skola och sköt sporadiskt för att skrämma iväg människor innan han den 23 februari tog Phyllis Sortor som gisslan. Free Methodist Church USA meddelade att hon släpptes på fredagen. Gunmen krävde tidigare 300 000 dollar för pastorns frigivning. Sorter har arbetat som missionär de senaste tio åren.
Masked gunman raided a Christian school and shot sporadically to scare people off before taking Phyllis Sortor hostage on 23 February. Free Methodist Church USA announced that she was released on Friday. Gunmen previously demanded $300,000 for the pastor's release. Sororities have worked as a missionary for the past ten years.