…As Palm Sunday mayhem claims 27 lives
From Jude Owuamanam
After years of hiatus and relative peace, the quietude of Jos, the capital of Plateau was once again broken when gunmen, in their numbers, stormed the sleepy community of Gari Ya Waye in Anwan Rukuba area of Jos North. At the end of the mayhem, the attackers left 27 bodies of men, women and children.
The prelude to the attack started few weeks ago when a part of the Jos main market was razed down. It was rumoured that the fire affected a certain group of traders who vowed to revenge. From then viral messages were circulated in social media warning that there would be attack after the Sallah celebration.
Nobody, however, knew where the attack would take place or its dimension. Yet, when it happened, it took the people of Gari Ya Waye community, who had had to bear the brunt of this dastardly act, by surprise.
The incident, once again, underscored the fact that the relative peace enjoyed by residents of Jos metropolis, which had been the epicenter of the internecine crisis in Jos North, was anything but peaceful.
According to eyewitnesses, residents of the area, who are predominantly Christians, were outside their homes savourig the cool breeze after the Palm Sunday celebrations, which took place few hours earlier at the various churches in the area, while others were either in beer palours or joints enjoying themselves. Suddenly what they heard was a burst of staccato of guns.
The attackers, who came in motorcycles, wielding guns and machetes, stormed the community and started shooting sporadically. Some claimed that the attackers wore camouflage, other said that they came in civilian dresses. Whatever were their accoutrements, the end result was sea of blood flowing freely along the streets.
However, what was intriguing was allegation by the youth that the attackers were escorted by a military vehicle. Restive members of the community in SOS messages, which they sent across social platforms after the incident, claimed that the attackers operated for hours without interruption and even one hour after they left, no security operative was around.
Survivors tell tales of sorrows, likened to what is seen in horror movies. A young lady, Ladi Musa, who escaped by the whiskers, only found herself in a stretcher at the casualty ward of the Jos University Teaching Hospital. Unable to speak and looking askance because of the trauma she went through, she only managed to pronounce her name and the area where she lives without giving any information about her relatives. Her picture and video had to be put out on social media inviting anybody that knows her to go to the hospital to identify her.
One of the casualties, Longwan Yilmen, had gone out to buy drugs when he was caught up in the cross fire. Few minutes later, he fell to the gunshots. According to Thaddeus Yilmen, his younger brother, Longwan had gone out with another relative to a nearby pharmacy to buy some drugs, when suddenly the volley of shots erupted. While his relative survived as staff of the pharmacy hurriedly closed the shop locking him and other customers inside the shop, Longwan, who was waiting outside, minutes later lay dead in the pool of his blood.
After the dust had down, enraged residents gathered all the corpses on the road when they heard that Governor Caleb Mutfwang was on his way to assess the situation. They were said to have gone to the mortuary to retrieve some of bodies that had earlier been deposited in the morgue for the governor to see them.
A bewildered government saved what would have been a reprisal by announcing a 48-hour curfew to avoid reprisals.
In a statement signed by his Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joyce Ramnap, the government regretted the tragic incident, describing it as unfortunate
The curfew, according to the statement, which was for initial 48 commencing from 12 midnight of March 29 to April 1, 2026, was to forestall further spread of the violence.
The statement reads: “Plateau State Government in conjunction with security agencies wishes to inform the general public of the imposition of a 48 hour curfew within Jos North local government Area with immediate effect,.
”The government under the leadership of Governor Caleb Mutfwang strongly condemns this barbaric and unprovoked attack on innocent citizens” and assures the public that all necessary measures are being taken to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
It asked residents to remain calm, stay vigilant, and cooperate fully with security agencies by providing any useful information that may aid ongoing investigations.
The police in their account stated that at about 08:30pm on March 29, 2026, the command received a distress call reporting that gunshot sounds were heard around Angwan Rukuba axis.
In a statement signed by Alfred Alabo, a superintendent of police, the command said, “Upon receipt of this report, the Commissioner of Police Plateau State Command personally led a team of officers comprising of members of the Command’s Management Team, PMF Squadron Commanders, DPOs and Tactical Team Commanders within the Metropolis in conjunction with members of other security agencies to the scene of the incidence to reduce tension and restore calm in the general area.
The police gave the casualty figure as 14, but this was disputed by the President of Berom Youth Molders Association, Dalyop Mwantiri, who said that 27 persons were killed
Alabo said that the police and all other security agencies within the State have organized a joint operations and are currently combing the nearby bushes to ensure that the suspects are arrested or dislodged in accordance with the law, while the corpses of the deceased have been evacuated to the mortuary for autopsy possible identification, while efforts were being intensified to arrest the culprits.
In his own account, Mwantiri said that 14 of the victims died on the spot, while 13 others died at the hospital. He said that all dead bodies were brought to the community.
According to him,, the attack was unprovoked as the attackers, in large numbers, stormed the densely populated community at about 7:30 pm on Sunday and opened sporadic fire on residents, throwing the area into panic.
Mwantiri condemned the attack, describing it as another sad episode in the recurring security challenges facing communities in the state. He urged the relevant authorities to ensure the perpetrators are apprehended and brought to justice without delay.
A Muslim leader, Sheikh Lawal, who lived close to the area, opined that the aim of the attackers was to attract reprisals and throw the whole state into chaos.
The governor, who visited to the community, said he was horrified by what happened and pleaded with the youths to allow the bodies to be evacuated to the hospital so as to give the deceased a befitting burial.
He described the community as a home to all tribes and nationalities, stressing that he also have relatives living in Angwan Rukuba. He called for restraints an patience as government unravels the reasons behind the attacks.
‘Please don’t allow the bodies to decompose. Let’s evacuate them to the hospital. I assure you that there will be no mass burial. I have made that commitment. I will liaise with the families and give them a decent burial. Those in hospital we will take care of their treatment until they recover,” Mutfwang told them.
The governor assured them that he will liaise with community leaders o arrangements for their burial, while providing some form of comfort and relief to the grieving families..
He also disclosed that the young man that made the threat on social media had been arrested, while the security agencies would ensure that his accomplices were apprehended.
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