*Solomon Dalung.
Former Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung, has called for a comprehensive investigation into the killing of nine passengers in a commercial bus at Dungus Junction, Kuru, in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Dalung, in a statement titled “The Jos Passenger Bus Massacre: What Happened Before, What Happened After, and What We Must Not Pretend Not to See,” said the incident must not be reduced to another cycle of condemnation without accountability.
He described the account of Nasiru Garba, the conductor and sole survivor of the attack, as “deeply disturbing” and “perhaps the most chilling piece of evidence” available so far.
According to Dalung, Garba said the bus was travelling towards Jos and had stopped to drop five passengers when gunmen opened fire, killing the driver and several passengers.
The survivor reportedly escaped by lying low inside the vehicle while the attackers approached, searched the bus and took his money and telephone.
“His testimony is perhaps the most chilling piece of evidence we have so far. He says the attackers said nothing. He did not see their faces. He simply survived by keeping himself down inside the vehicle while people around him were being killed,” Dalung said.
He noted that nine people were killed in the attack, adding that one of the victims was reportedly a member of Operation Rainbow.
The former minister said the available account suggested that the passengers were deliberately attacked rather than caught in an exchange of gunfire.
However, he urged caution over reports linking the bus massacre to other attacks recorded in Plateau around the same period.
Dalung said attacks were also reported in Mangu and Riyom, including the killing of two people at Vodni in Pushit District of Mangu and two others at Tahoos in Riyom.
He also referred to a reported attack in Alohom, Mangu, before the Dungus incident, where three young herders and cattle were reportedly killed.
He said all the incidents were serious and deserved independent investigation.
“There have been suggestions that some of these incidents may be connected or that the Dungus attack could have been retaliatory. Perhaps investigators will eventually establish a connection. Perhaps they will not,” he said.
“At this stage, we simply do not know enough to make that conclusion.”
Dalung stressed that the killing of innocent passengers should not be explained away by another crime, just as attacks on herders should not be ignored because another group subsequently suffered.
“Each crime should be investigated and accounted for on its own facts,” he said.
He also called for independent verification of reports that the attackers allegedly moved into surrounding communities after the bus attack and continued killing residents.
According to him, if the allegation is established, the victims must be identified and the circumstances surrounding their deaths properly documented.
Beyond identifying the perpetrators, Dalung raised questions about the security arrangements along the road leading into Jos.
“How did armed men manage to attack a commercial passenger vehicle carrying civilians on a road leading into Jos?” he asked.
He noted that the incident reportedly involved armed men operating on motorcycles who stopped the vehicle, opened fire, searched it and left.
The former minister therefore demanded answers on whether security agencies had received intelligence about possible attacks in the area, whether the route had been identified as vulnerable, and whether security patrols were operating along the corridor.
He also questioned how long it took security personnel to respond after the shooting began.
“These are basic questions of public security,” Dalung said.
“If a commercial passenger vehicle can be stopped and its occupants massacred on a road leading into the state capital, then we need to understand exactly where the security chain failed.”
He maintained that establishing what happened before, during and immediately after the attack was essential to determining measures required to prevent a recurrence.
Dalung said the families of the victims deserved justice, while residents and travellers deserved confidence that using Plateau roads would not expose them to unacceptable risks.
He urged the authorities to identify and prosecute those responsible, irrespective of their identity, background or affiliation.
“The victims were innocent Nigerians. Whoever killed them should be identified and brought to justice, irrespective of who they are, where they come from or what identity they claim,” he said.
As a Plateau State stakeholder, Dalung said he would continue to speak about insecurity “without fear or favour,” stressing that his intervention was aimed at protecting lives rather than embarrassing anyone.
He commiserated with the families of those killed and prayed for the repose of the victims’ souls.
He also urged the authorities not to allow the survival story of Garba to become another tragic account that attracts public attention briefly before being forgotten.