Nigeria, Nov. 18 -- Armed police officers on Tuesday fired teargas at protesters at the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja, in an attempt to prevent some party officials and supporters from accessing the premises.

The officers had earlier barricaded the party compound, but tensions escalated when the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, arrived at about 10:45 a.m., with his entourage for the inaugural National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting convened by the new leadership of the party under Kabiru Turaki.

Although the governor and his supporters were allowed through the main gate, security operatives prevented them from entering the hall where the NEC meeting was scheduled to hold. This led to a co...