Security has been tightened around the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abuja as the Federal Capital Territory Police Command prepares to deploy personnel to forestall a possible clash between rival factions of the opposition party.

The move follows plans by the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led caretaker committee, reportedly backed by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to reopen the party’s Wadata Plaza secretariat, which was sealed by the police after a violent confrontation between two contending leadership blocs.

Senior officers at the FCT Command confirmed that, although they had not received formal notification of the reopening, the police would not wait for tensions to boil over before acting. They said operatives would be stationed at the secretariat and other flashpoints to prevent a repeat of the unrest that led to the earlier shutdown.

The crisis pits the Mohammed-led caretaker committee against the National Working Committee loyal to Tanimu Turaki. Acting National Secretary of the caretaker committee, Samuel Anyanwu, has insisted that the secretariat will resume full activities and dismissed suggestions that legal hurdles stand in the way.

But the Turaki camp has rejected the move, insisting the caretaker leaders remain expelled from the party. National Publicity Secretary of the Turaki-led NWC, Ini Ememobong, accused the rival faction of “self-deceit” and argued that they lack the authority to convene any valid meeting or convention.

Ememobong disclosed that the party had written to the Inspector-General of Police and the FCT Commissioner of Police, drawing attention to ongoing suits at the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal over control of the secretariat. He warned that allowing any faction to take possession of the building before judgment would amount to encouraging self-help and could place the police in contempt of court.

Police sources, however, stressed that their primary concern is maintaining public order, not adjudicating the internal dispute. One senior officer, who asked not to be named, said the command “would not stand by and allow a breakdown of peace and order by the party or anyone else.”

FCT police spokesperson Josephine Adeh said she had not been formally briefed on the planned reopening and declined to comment on the scale of deployment, even as officers on the ground confirmed that preparations were under way.