Teargas was deployed at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja as rival factions of the party clashed during simultaneous meetings, forcing politicians, journalists, and supporters to flee.
Politicians and journalists scrambled for safety on Tuesday as police fired teargas to disperse clashing supporters at the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), according to a report from VANGUARD.
Tensions escalated when two opposing groups — the Nyesom Wike-backed faction and the newly-constituted National Working Committee (NWC) led by Kabiru Turaki — scheduled separate meetings at the Wadata Plaza secretariat on the same day. Samuel Anyanwu, national secretary of the Wike-aligned bloc, arrived with members for their planned Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings.
As supporters exchanged heated words and scuffles broke out, police officers struggled to maintain order. At one point, operatives ordered everyone, including party officials, to evacuate. When the situation worsened, officers fired teargas canisters, sending politicians, party members, staff, and journalists fleeing toward adjacent streets. Several people were seen coughing and shielding their faces from the gas.
Outside the building, supporters from both camps brandished cudgels and other objects, further escalating confrontations. Police reinforcements were later deployed to restore calm, though tensions remained high as both factions traded accusations over the violence’s cause.
The incident comes amid ongoing disputes within the PDP, with the Wike-led faction recently taking over the party’s national secretariat.