The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kabiru Turaki, has on Tuesday made appealed to the President of the United States, Donald Trump and the international community to intervene in Nigeria’s political climate, warning that the country’s democracy was “under threat” as internal crisis rocking the PDP escalated in Abuja.
He said the situation had reached a level that required global intervention.
I want to call on President Trump, what is at stake is not just genocide against Christians, he should come and save democracy in Nigeria. Democracy is under threat, I am calling all other developed nations, all advanced democracy, come and save Nigeria.”
Turaki said the the party leaders are ready to pay the ultimate price to protect the country’s democracy.
“I have said it, we are willing to lay down our lives to protect our office, to protect democracy and to protect our mandate,” he said.
His comments came minutes before chaos erupted at the PDP’s national secretariat in Wadata Plaza, where two rival blocs — the Nyesom Wike-backed faction and the newly constituted National Working Committee (NWC) loyal to Turaki — scheduled parallel meetings on the same day.
Tensions spiked when Samuel Anyanwu, the national secretary aligned with Wike, arrived with supporters for a separate Board of Trustees (BoT) and NEC meeting. Heated verbal exchanges quickly escalated into scuffles as both camps jostled for control of the premises.
Police operatives on ground struggled to manage the situation and eventually ordered everyone, including senior party officials, to evacuate the compound. The confrontation worsened shortly after, prompting officers to fire teargas canisters to disperse the crowd.
The sudden deployment of teargas sent party members, staff and journalists scattering in panic. Many were seen coughing, shielding their faces and fleeing toward nearby streets in a chaotic stampede.
Outside the secretariat, clashes continued as supporters from both sides brandished sticks and other objects, further heightening tensions around the embattled opposition party.
The PDP crisis, which has deepened ahead of key internal decisions, remains unresolved as both factions continue to assert authority.
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