A funeral service for victims of the Palm Sunday attack in the Angwan Rukuba community, Jos, Plateau State, was disrupted on Tuesday by a protest led by women demanding the release of some youths arrested by security agents in the aftermath of the attack, which killed at least 28 people.
The demonstrators, armed with leaves and chanting songs, blocked the door to the church in the community where the mass burial service was supposed to take place, refusing to let the event begin until their demands were fulfilled.
“We will not allow the burial to take place until our sons are released,” one of the protesters, Rhoda Aliyu, said.
“Those arrested by soldiers are innocent. They are not the ones who carried out the killings. They should go after the perpetrators and leave our youths alone, and we will not let them be detained unfairly,” another protester, Mathew Bulus, said.
The protest heightened community tensions as about seven corpses of attack victims were brought to the location.
The protesting women, together with several youths, blocked the entrance to the church where the mass burial was due, alleging accusations that military officials had arrested three community youngsters in connection with the killings.
According to a community source, the women were demanding the unconditional release of the jailed teenagers before they could be buried.
It should be noted that unknown shooters, suspected of being bandits, stormed Angwan Rukuba and the Gari Ya Waye neighborhood on Palm Sunday night, killing over 28 people and injured several more.
Around 8 p.m., the attackers assaulted the densely populated hamlet and fired indiscriminately on inhabitants.
President Bola Tinubu, who visited Plateau State last week following the incident, expressed condolences to the victims’ families and instructed security authorities to apprehend the offenders.
He also directed the installation of over 5,000 artificial intelligence-enabled CCTV cameras throughout the state to improve 24-hour surveillance and combat instability.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who had already visited the area, promised that justice would be served and that those responsible would not go unpunished.
He condemned the incident as a wicked and well-planned act intended to destabilize the state.
Mutfwang told citizens during a statewide broadcast and stakeholder engagements that his administration had taken prompt and decisive action, such as convening a Security Council meeting to rectify lapses and upgrading security measures in sensitive regions.
He complimented the people of Angwan Rukuba and Plateau State for remaining calm and refusing to retaliate despite the provocation.
The governor went on to say that Plateau State would not succumb to terror-related blackmail.
Mutfwang also urged traditional rulers, religious leaders, and community stakeholders to work alongside security agencies and the government to combat insecurity, confirming his commitment to restore the state’s long-term peace and unity.
Efforts to obtain a response from security agencies regarding the arrest of the three youths and the ongoing tension remained futile as of press time.
