Politicians, journalists scamper for safety as police fire teargas at PDP headquarters

There was pandemonium at the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Abuja on Tuesday after police operatives deployed tear gas to disperse clashing supporters of rival party factions.

Tensions erupted 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 headquarters on the same day.

The drama escalated shortly after Samuel Anyanwu, national secretary of the Wike-aligned bloc, arrived at the premises with members of his faction 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 the premises.

When the situation worsened, officers fired teargas canisters, sending politicians, party members, staff, and journalists scrambling for safety. The sudden blast of teargas triggered a chaotic stampede, with several people seen coughing, shielding their faces, and fleeing toward adjacent streets.

Outside the building, supporters from both camps brandished cudgels and various objects as confrontations intensified.

Police reinforcements were later deployed to restore calm around the secretariat, though tension remained high as both factions traded accusations over the cause of the violence.

Culled from vanguard