Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has explained why he addressed residents of Angwan Rukuba in Jos North Local Government Area from inside an armoured personnel carrier during his visit on Monday.
The community came under attack on Palm Sunday, with gunmen killing at least 28 people and injuring several others.
Mutfwang visited the scene the following day, where he addressed agitated residents while standing through the roof hatch of the armoured vehicle.
On Thursday, President Bola Tinubu visited Plateau State to commiserate with mourners but did not go beyond the airport.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Friday, the governor dismissed claims that he acted out of fear, saying the decision was guided by security protocol.
Mutfwang said he was in Abuja for official engagements, including a high-level security meeting, when he received news of the attack and immediately returned to the state.
According to him, residents at the scene had refused 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.
The governor noted that although he intended to drive straight to the scene, security operatives advised caution, describing the environment as potentially hostile.
“The security personnel have a duty to protect me, and if they assess that the situation is hostile, they had a duty to protect me,” he said.
Mutfwang added that despite the risks, he insisted on visiting the scene immediately.
“I could have stayed back until the whole thing had calmed down, but I insisted on going to the scene,” he said.
He clarified that standing through the roof hatch of the armoured vehicle was mainly to gain height so he could address the large crowd effectively.
“From the height I stood… it was for me to gain height in order to address the crowd,” Mutfwang said. He noted that residents later reassured him of his safety and urged him to come closer.
The governor also criticised what he described as a selective and mischievous portrayal of the incident on social media.
“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.”
Mutfwang maintained that he felt safe among the people.
“I was comfortable with the people. I knew the people were not going to harm me, but the security had to do their assessment and evaluation,” he added.