Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State defended his decision to stand on an armoured personnel carrier while addressing mourners in Angwan Rukuba after a deadly attack on Palm Sunday that killed 30 people. He said the vehicle was used as an elevated platform so he could be seen and heard by the crowd. In a Channel TV interview on Sunday, Mr Mutfwang explained, "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 insisted he spent 90 per cent of his time on the ground among the people, viewing corpses and appealing for calm. Mr Mutfwang criticised social media users for distorting the moment he stood on the vehicle, saying, "You could see that social media can take a small portion and misrepresent it completely." He maintained that the security detail required him to use the vehicle for safety, even though he felt safe among the community. Last Monday, during his visit, protesters shouted at him, calling him a liar and demanding he come down from the armoured vehicle to speak with them. Some chanted in Hausa, "It is a lie. It is lie," accusing him of breaking promises to protect lives and property.
That Governor Mutfwang felt the need to justify standing on an armoured vehicle while residents who lost family members demanded he come down speaks volumes about the gulf between authority and anguish. His emphasis on being among the people for 90 per cent of the visit does not erase the image of a leader elevated above grieving citizens during a moment of raw pain. When promises of security collapse and the public sees a governor atop a military vehicle, optics matter more than explanations. This moment reflects not just a security challenge, but a crisis of trust in leadership.
