Governor Mutfwang defends staying in an armoured vehicle to speak to Jos residents after Palm Sunday attack that claimed 28 lives

Caleb Mutfwang, governor of Plateau state, has defended his use of an armoured personnel carrier during a visit to Angwan Rukuba in Jos north, following a deadly attack, saying his actions were misrepresented on social media.

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The governor visited the community after suspected bandits killed about 28 people and injured several others, arriving with a heavy security presence that included an armoured vehicle from which he initially addressed residents.

Videos from the scene quickly circulated online, sparking criticism and claims that he acted out of fear, but Mutfwang rejected that interpretation. Speaking during a television interview, he said security protocol guided the decision, not personal fear.

“The security personnel have a duty to protect me, and if they assess that the situation they perceived was hostile, they had a duty to protect me,” he said. Mutfwang explained that he had been in Abuja for official engagements when he received news of the attack and immediately returned to the state.

He added that tensions were high at the scene, with residents refusing to allow the evacuation of victims’ bodies until he arrived. “Unless they see the governor, they are not going to allow those corpses to be evacuated,” he said.

According to him, although he wanted to go directly to the scene, security operatives advised caution due to the volatile situation. “I could have stayed back until the whole thing had calmed down, but I insisted on going to the scene,” he said.

He also clarified that standing through the roof hatch of the armoured vehicle was a practical decision to better address the crowd. “From the height I stood… it was for me to gain height in order to address the crowd,” he said.

Mutfwang criticised how parts of the visit were portrayed online, arguing that clips shared on social media did not reflect the full context of his engagement with residents.

“If not for mischief, why are people not focusing on where I spent 90 percent of the time with the crowd, seeing the corpses, appealing to people, calming people?” he said. “You could see that social media can take a small portion and misrepresent it completely.”

He maintained that he felt safe among the community during the visit, despite the initial security concerns.