A meeting of the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) National Working Committee (NWC) descended into chaos on Tuesday as journalists were assaulted and equipment vandalized at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
The incident occurred at the party’s headquarters located at 16 Nairobi Street, Off Parakou Estate, Wuse II, where reporters had gathered to cover the high-stakes meeting amid the suspension of the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, over allegations of financial misconduct.
During the melee, Francis Adebayo, a journalist with The Punch, had his shirt torn in a scuffle, while the camera of Arise TV was seized by unidentified individuals. The camera was only recovered after swift intervention by a correspondent from The Nation newspaper.
Though the exact trigger of the violence remains unclear, eyewitnesses linked the chaos to mounting tensions within the party over recent leadership controversies and increased media scrutiny.
Party officials have yet to release an official statement on the incident, but the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and other media advocacy groups are calling for a thorough investigation and sanctions against those responsible for the attack on members of the press.
The incident has sparked outrage among media professionals, raising concerns over press freedom and the safety of journalists covering political events in Nigeria.
