The Peoples Democratic Party was forced to abruptly relocate its Board of Trustees meeting on Monday after armed policemen from the Federal Capital Territory Command allegedly took over its Wadata Plaza National Secretariat in Abuja.
In a series of posts on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, the opposition party accused the police of acting on the orders of the ruling All Progressives Congress to disrupt its scheduled meeting.
“Happening Now – Federal Police, other security agencies with the order of All Progressives Congress harassing Board of Trustees members and staff of the Party’s National Secretariat in a bid to stop the scheduled meeting,” the PDP tweeted.
The party subsequently issued a “Special Announcement” informing members of the venue change: “The meeting of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), earlier scheduled to hold by 10 a.m. at the Party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, has been moved to Yar’Adua Center, Central Business District, Abuja. All BoT members are by this notice advised to proceed to the new venue.”
However, the FCT Police Command swiftly denied the PDP’s allegations. In a statement signed by Police Public Relations Officer SP Josephine Adeh, the command described the claims as “false, misleading, and not reflective of the true situation on ground.”
“The FCT Police Command is aware of the news making the rounds alleging that the Police sealed off the PDP secretariat in Wuse Zone 5, Abuja,” the statement read. “The command wishes to categorically state that this information is false, misleading, and does not reflect the true situation on ground.”
The police explained their presence at the secretariat, stating: “Police officers were only deployed to the venue to maintain law and order and ensure public safety in line with their constitutional mandate. At no time was the secretariat sealed off by the Police.”
The statement concluded with an admonition: “The Commissioner of Police, FCT, urges media outlets to verify information through the office of the command police public relations officer before disseminating.”