The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a dramatic turn on Monday following the arrest of a staff member in the party’s Publicity Department, Thomas Ibu, by armed security operatives at the PDP National Secretariat in Wuse Zone 5, Abuja.

According to Punch, several policemen swooped on Ibu, forcibly dragging him away despite protests by fellow staff members.

Naijaonpoint learnt that attempts by his colleagues to intervene were rebuffed, as the operatives overpowered them and whisked Ibu away in a waiting patrol vehicle.

The incident comes amid heightened tension over the controversy surrounding the office of the National Secretary and the planned 100th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, which has deepened the party’s internal wranglings.

Naijaonpoint gathered that security around Wadata Plaza, the PDP’s national headquarters, was significantly beefed up on Monday as rival factions of the party prepared to hold parallel meetings.

Personnel from both the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have been deployed to the area, with barricades mounted at strategic access points using traffic cones and patrol vehicles.

Armed officers were seen manning the premises, closely monitoring movements in and around the building.

The ongoing crisis is rooted in the dispute over the legitimacy of decisions taken by the party’s Acting National Chairman, which the Board of Trustees (BoT) has labelled “unconstitutional and unilateral.”

The situation has restricted access to the PDP Secretariat, with many visitors and party workers either turned back or subjected to thorough screening.