Crisis erupted on Thursday night whilst overzealous operatives attached to the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, attacked a journalist and the security operatives at the national secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Abuja.
The incident took place after Tijani, who earlier arrived for a meeting, was riding out of the party headquarters amid a heavy blaring of sirens with the aid of her security aides.
Hassle started out while a security detailed to the minister slapped the leader security officers manning the main gate of the APC secretariat for not being quick enough to order his ‘boys’ to open the gate after seeing Tijani stepped out of the premises.
The development infuriated other cops and security guys at the Secretariat, who rose to challenge the aggressor.
As opposed to apologising for the assault, all security aides of the minister threatened to open fire if the aggrieved law enforcement officials fail to retreat.
The struggle of words, which soon degenerated into a free-for-all, brought about a traffic gridlock that started out from the party Secretariat to Blantyre avenue, leaving motorists stranded.
In the midst of the chaos, an NTA journalist, Mohammed Baba, who was assigned to cover events at the party secretariat was stuck in the crossfire between the opposition facets.
Baba was manhandled by the same aide who started the combat for having the gut to record the chaos.
In spite of identifying himself as a broadcast journalist, he was seriously brutalised, an action that left his ‘Babariga’ in tatters.
But, further attempts to seize his phone and camera was rebuffed by others members of the APC press corp and security men at the gate.
Even as the drama lasted, the minister sat with no trouble inside the car and watched as her security details tear down the secretariat.
But when she found other journalists have started moving to the scene, Tijani beckoned to the operatives to return to the convoy and soon drove out recklessly, scaring onlookers and passersby inside the manner.
The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka has not reacted to the crisis.
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