Hordes of protesters grieving over the Palm Sunday attack that left many dead in Anguwan Rukuba, Plateau State, shouted at Governor Caleb Mutfwang during his visit to the community, calling him a liar.
The governor, who visited Anguwan Rukuba in an armoured vehicle on Monday following the attack, was seen in a video urging protesters to let him speak.
“Come down to address us. We will not listen to you,” some of the protesters chanted as Mr Mutfwang appealed to them to listen to him.
“If you keep quiet, I will come to wherever you want me to come,” Mr Mutfwang entreated the crowd from the opening on the armoured vehicle that brought him to the community.
To pacify the protesters, Mr Mutfwang said, “I know you are all angry about the incident that happened. I know you are all crying. As you see me also, I am crying about the situation. However, I want you to exercise patience. We should all calm down and listen to each other.”
In another video, protesters confronted the governor, accusing him of lying and deceiving them with promises to secure their lives and property, while Mr Mutfwang hugged and appeared to be consoling a man with dreadlocks.
“It is a lie. It is a lie,” they chanted in Hausa, disrupting the governor’s speech as he begged them to allow the corpses of victims to be taken to the mortuary.
“Please, I beg you. Let’s allow the corpses to be taken to the mortuary,” Mr Mutfwang said, while protesters continued shouting, “It’s a lie, it is a lie.”
The protests on Monday took place despite the governor imposing a 48-hour curfew in Jos North Local Government Area following the attack.
On Sunday night, armed gunmen raided Anguwan Rukuba, killing at least 40 people, according to Reuters. An official statement on the number of those killed is yet to be released.
