By Folarin Kehinde
Tension flared on Friday in Abuja as journalists jostled for accreditation ahead of the convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) holding in the nation’s capital.
The incident, which occurred at the Kano Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, saw over 100 journalists—both accredited and non-accredited—storm the venue in a bid to secure accreditation tags for coverage of the exercise.
Trouble began earlier in the day when the coordinator in charge of the tags announced that only a limited number of tags were available.
According to the coordinator, most of the tags designated for APC correspondents had already been distributed, leaving only a few remaining.
The announcement triggered agitation among the journalists, many of whom expressed frustration over what they described as a lack of proper planning and transparency in the accreditation process.
Vanguard gathered that the atmosphere quickly became charged, with heated exchanges and visible signs of unrest as journalists pressed for access tags.
Men of the Nigeria Police Force were subsequently deployed to the scene to restore calm and prevent a breakdown of law and order.
The development has continued to generate controversy, with affected journalists calling on APC organisers to address the concerns and ensure a more orderly process in future engagements.
As of the time of filing this report, APC officials had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
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