Local community leaders have called for the release of missionary Jeff Woodke, abducted from his home in northern Niger two years ago.

Woodke, 57, was kidnapped by unknown assailants believed to be from an Islamist group who killed two security guards.

On the second anniversary of his abduction local officials, aid workers, representatives of the Niger army and others came together in Abalak to make a statement paying tribute to Woodke, according to World Watch Monitor.

In a video they confirmed their appreciation of his 'memorable work' and their respect for him as a 'community hero' and said they had come together 'to fulfil a moral mandate to Jeff: his freedom to help the Abalak population'.

'[We] hope that the President of the Republic of Niger will fully invest in order to achieve the release of Jeff,' they said, speaking in French.

Woodke had lived in the region since 1992 and had been running several development projects among the Tuareg people group, focusing on farming, health, literacy, primary-school education and improving access to drinking water.

His wife Els released a video directed at her husband and saying: 'I want you to know that I'm doing everything I can to get you home. It's been two long years. You have not been abandoned. Not by God and not by those who help me... Do not lose hope.'

Woodke's captors were tracked to Mali, but have not been located.

In June, Niger's president, Mahamadou Issoufou, said Woodke and a German aid worker kidnapped in April this year were both alive. 'We have some news; we know they're alive... We continue to create the conditions for their release. Perhaps the contacts that are under way will help to achieve that goal,' he told TV channel France24.