During a condolence visit to the home of Chief Reuben Fasoranti, a Yoruba leader whose daughter was killed on Friday while travelling on the Benin-Ore Expressway, Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo told the bereaved father that the government is working to curtail insecurity and kidnappings in the country.
Osinbajo admitted that Nigerians “have seen it replicated here and there, the kidnappings death, killings.”
He said the FG is “looking at the whole security architecture and trying to ensure we upscale it by and ensure that we are able to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians.”
“We are engaging the Army so that there will be a bit more military presence, especially along the roads.”
Why it matters: The vice president’s comments are a striking departure from those he made during his June visit to the United States. Osinbajo told Nigerians in New York on June 24th that:
“With respect to general kidnapping which we have seen in parts of the country, again, this is not entirely new. In fact, some of the kidnapping stories you read or listen to are simply not true anywhere, some are fuelled by politics.”