PHOTOS: Police barricade PDP national secretariat after violent face-off

Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) have sealed the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja.

The closure followed a violent face-off between two factions of the party on Tuesday.

Videos on Wednesday showed barbed wire stretched across the main entrance to stop movement in and out of Wadata Plaza.

Officers were stationed around the complex to enforce the shutdown, while a group of men mounted barricades around the building with reinforced metal fencing and wire mesh.

None of the principal actors from the two feuding blocs was seen near the premises, as only security personnel were on duty.

Chaotic scenes played out at the PDP headquarters on Tuesday as police fired tear gas to break up clashes between supporters from opposing camps.

The Nyesom Wike-aligned bloc and the newly elected national working committee (NWC) led by Kabiru Turaki had scheduled separate meetings at Wadata Plaza for the same day.

Turaki accused Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), of deploying thugs, armed with cudgels, who gathered at the gate and sang protest songs.

He also claimed that police officers protected those responsible for the disorder.

Samuel Anyanwu, national secretary of the Wike faction, arrived with his group for their planned board of trustees (BoT) and national executive committee (NEC) meetings.

Police struggled to control an increasingly rowdy crowd before eventually ordering everyone out of the premises.

Officers later fired tear gas as supporters from both camps traded blows outside the building.

The developments come days after the convention held in Ibadan, where Anyanwu, Wike, Ayodele Fayose and others were removed for alleged anti-party activities.