A Silver Creek man held hostage in Africa for the last week isfree, healthy and on his way back home, a family member saidThursday morning.

James Robertson, 47, is expected to fly into Jackson a free manFriday after being held captive by a Nigerian militant group thatkidnapped him from an offshore oilrig eight days go. He was notharmed during the capture or subsequent captivity and will be flownhome after spending a day resting and recuperating in a hotel roomin an undisclosed location, said his aunt, Silver Creek’s PatClark.

“He was in good shape. They were going to give him a good dinner,get him a hotel, let him get a bath and get some rest,” Clark said.”We’re just going to give him kisses and hugs. We hope everybodywill rally around him and let him know how much he’s been loved andprayed for all this time.”

Clark said Robertson was freed alongside 18 other captured oilmen -including Winona’s Jeff James – Wednesday night when the Nigerianmilitary raided the compound where they were held. That compoundwas reportedly operated by MEND, the Movement for the Emancipationof the Niger Delta, a militant group that attacks the oil industryin protest of that country’s poverty.

“They got them out. I don’t know the details on how they got themout,” Clark said. “They took them into some port, and they weregoing to get them all a good dinner last night.”

Robertson and James were taken hostage on Nov. 8 when MEND attackedtheir Transocean oilrig operating about 50 miles off the southerncoast of Nigeria. They and five other workers were captured withoutinjury, though another worker was reportedly shot through the legaccidentally and transported to a hospital.

Another seven of the 18 workers were Nigerians captured in asimilar raid on another rig Sunday. It is unclear when and wherethe remaining four hostages were captured.

Clark said the family would greet Robertson at the airport with”kisses and hugs.”

“This is the best Christmas present we’ll all be getting this yearbecause James is one special young man,” she said. “He’s aGod-fearing man, and I know God was with him in all of this. Hetook care of him and all the rest of them, and he’s going to giveGod all the praise and glory in this. We definitely do.”

Clark said Robertson had warned his mother, Brenda Robertson, thathe could be taken captive while working on the rig.

“He had told his mother a long time ago about all of this piratemess going on over there,” she said. “Very often when he would goback to work he would say, ‘Mama, don’t worry about me. Don’t worryif you hear about me getting kidnapped because I’m not any betterthan anybody else to have to go through something likethis.'”

Details are few at this point, but Clark said Robertson and theother captives were treated well by their captors.

“From what we understand, they were not tied up or anything likethat. They were taken care of,” she said. “We want to thank themfor that. I know that sounds weird, but it could have beenhorrible. We could have not even gotten him back.”

Clark said Robertson’s family remained calm and turned to faithduring the ordeal.

“We knew God was in control of the situation and He was going tobring him out of it,” she said.

In Silver Creek, God has definitely been part of the plan. Morethan 200 people gathered for a prayer vigil there Sunday night.Three days later, Robertson was free.

“We would like to thank everybody who has prayed for him,” saidSilver Creek Mayor Elizabeth Turnage. “This just shows the power ofprayer. Everybody came together as a town to pray for him.”