Prof. Udenta O. Udenta, founding National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy, has accused the Nigeria Police of contributing to the deepening crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party.
Speaking on Thursday during an interview on Arise Television monitored by DAILY POST, Udenta criticised the conduct of security operatives during Tuesday’s confrontation between rival PDP factions at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja. The clash saw officers firing gunshots and deploying teargas to disperse party supporters, sending many fleeing in panic.
Udenta argued that the police played an enabling role in what he described as the “factional occupation” of the PDP headquarters.
According to him, the son of the party’s new chairman, Tanimu Turaki SAN, had notified the police of an alleged plot to seize the secretariat. “The police assured him nothing of such would happen,” he said. “Yet they allowed the Anyanwu faction to enter at 5:00 a.m. while the police watched.”
He said the security operatives’ inaction allowed the situation to escalate, insisting that a timely shutdown of the premises would have prevented the confrontation.
Udenta also condemned the heavy use of force by the police during the incident. “They fired over 200 canisters of tear gas on sitting governors, former governors and party leaders,” he said, referencing the fatal impact of past teargas incidents, including the case of Chiroma in Kano years ago. He added that the operation was carried out under the supervision of a deputy commissioner of police.
