The Abuja headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party fell silent on Wednesday after operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, FCT Command, sealed off the complex and ringed it with barbed wire.
By early morning, officers had blocked every entry and exit point at Wadata Plaza. Patrol trucks were parked across the access roads, shutting down movement and bringing all administrative and political activity inside the building to a stop.
A visit to the area by journalists showed coils of razor wire stretched across the main gates and spread along the perimeter.
Armed personnel stood at several strategic spots, turning back staff and party officials who attempted to gain entry.
A riot control vehicle was also positioned at a short distance away as part of the security cordon.
The measure came less than twenty-four hours after a violent clash broke out between two rival factions of the party.
While one group is loyal to the newly elected National Chairman, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki.
The other group is aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Both camps had scheduled separate meetings at the secretariat on Tuesday, a decision that quickly spiraled into confrontation.
Tensions rose sharply when key figures from both sides arrived. Wike, suspended National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, Turaki, and the governors of Oyo and Bauchi, Seyi Makinde and Bala Mohammed, were all present.
Police officers deployed to the scene eventually fired tear gas to disperse the crowd and regain control of the grounds.
The party has been battling an internal crisis since its contentious national convention in Ibadan.
At that gathering, Wike, Anyanwu and their allies were expelled for what the new leadership described as anti-party conduct. Turaki and a new National Working Committee emerged from the same convention.
But a faction led by Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed has continued to challenge the outcome. After its own NEC meeting on Tuesday, the group announced the expulsion of Makinde, Bala Mohammed and Zamfara governor, Dauda Lawal.
Turaki, who managed to enter his office briefly on Tuesday, told journalists that he had fully assumed his role and that the party would stay focused on defending democratic institutions in the country.