Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has talked down on cases of kidnapping in Nigeria, saying that they were sometimes exaggerated.
Prof. Osinbajo said this on Monday while addressing Nigerians based in New York on Monday when he was confronted with questions about rising cases of kidnapping in the country.
The Vice President is in the US on a four-day official visit where he is expected to meet US Vice President Mike Pence.
“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,” Osinbajo said.
“There are cases of kidnapping, no question at all about that, but some of the more dramatic stories that you hear are simply not true.
“Every report of kidnapping we receive, we try to verify, and at the end of the day you find out that people just tell all sorts of stories.”
He said that the government has been working on a sustainable solution to the crisis.
His comments came days after Western foreign missions in Nigeria issued travel advisories to their citizens, warning them to avoid a large section of the country for fear of kidnapping and other security threats.
