The incident, which drew widespread attention online, sparked speculation about whether the governor had been under threat.
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has explained the circumstances that led him to address a tense crowd from an armoured personnel carrier (APC), after Palm Sunday’s deadly attack in Jos, the state capital.
The governor, in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday. said his decision was driven by both security considerations and the need to effectively communicate with residents during a volatile moment.
“From the height I stood, part of the reason they put me in the ATC was for me to gain height in order to address the crowd,” he explained.
The incident, which drew widespread attention online, sparked speculation about whether the governor had been under threat.
However, Mutfwang dismissed such claims, insisting that his interaction with the crowd was largely peaceful and cooperative.
“As I addressed the crowd and they were comfortable that I had arrived, that’s why they were saying, ‘come, come,’ assuring me that I could come and that there was no harm,” he said.
“Therefore, it was easy for the security personnel to accept my insistence on moving into the crowd.”
According to him, much of the public perception was shaped by clips circulating on social media, which failed to capture the full scope of his engagement at the scene.
“If not for mischief, why are people not focusing on where I spent 90 per cent 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.”
The governor maintained that he felt safe among the people, even as security operatives remained cautious.
“I was comfortable with the people. I knew the people were not going to harm me, but the security had to,” he added.
Governor Mutfwang revealed that he had been in Abuja attending official engagements, including the APC National Convention and high-level security consultations, when news of the incident broke.
“I was in Abuja, you remember, at the back of the APC National Convention, and then I had a very high-level security consultation on Sunday evening with some of the top security chiefs,” he said.
“We were discussing some of the things we need to do going forward when the news filtered that this had happened.”
Despite a tight schedule, including a planned Northern Governors’ Forum meeting, the governor said he immediately arranged to return home.
“As early as 7 a.m., the presidential air fleet released a plane for me to return home. I wanted to drive straight to the scene because the crowd had said unless they see the governor, they are not going to allow those corpses to be evacuated,” he stated.
Upon arrival, however, security concerns were heightened by the presence of individuals suspected of attempting to incite unrest.
“Around that neighbourhood, the NDLEA had been used to come and raid some of these drug addicts… and some of them had already gathered around the crowd trying to create a hostile scenario,” he said.
Even so, Mutfwang insisted on being physically present at the scene, emphasising leadership and accountability.
“The security personnel have a duty to protect me, and if they assess that the situation is hostile… they have a duty to protect me,” he said.
“I could have stayed back until the whole thing had calmed down, but I insisted on going to the scene.”
The governor expressed his gratitude to the people of Plateau State for their trust, reaffirming his commitment to stand with them in difficult moments.
“I want to thank Plateau people for the level of trust and confidence they have reposed in me, which I have vowed never to betray,” he said.
