Armed police officers fired tear gas canisters at crowds including accredited delegates and journalists in Abuja's Eagle Square, site of the national session of the All Progressives Congress.
The event was greeted with chaos as political thugs loyal to various politicians descended on the stage to try to gain entry to the convention grounds.
The situation forced security officials to fire tear gas into the crowd as delegates and journalists ran to safety.
The thugs also used pickpocketing and operated freely when unsuspecting delegates and journalists stole cellphones and money.
Many of them were arrested in the process. The situation was caused by the diversion of the main entrance reserved for non-VIPs, forcing some non-statutory delegates and accredited journalists to use the inner gate through the Federal Secretariat car park.
Once there, the political thugs in their numbers turned their backs on the front door and took over the interior while overwhelming security at the entrance.
The reinforcement of the security forces was necessary to bring the situation back under control. After bringing the chaos under control, visibly angry police officers armed with sniffer dogs and pepper spray rushed into the waiting crowd to disperse them.
The growing crowd led to another round of stampede. At the time of this report, the statutory delegates, consisting of the president, his vice president, the governors and their alternates, and the federal and state legislatures, had not yet arrived.