The national secretariat of the Labor Party in Abuja has been taken over by officers of the Nigerian Police Force.

The crisis roiling the party worsened on Thursday after the National Vice-Chairman for the South, Lamidi Bashir Apapa, was installed as acting party chairman by seven members of the National Working Committee, or NWC.

Julius Abure, a suspended board member, was replaced by Apapa.

Speaking after an urgent meeting, Apapa claimed that the NWC's decision was based on an Abuja High Court ruling that forbade Abure from referring to himself as the National Chairman of the LP.

The National Secretary, Umar Farouk Ibrahim; the National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara; and the National Organizing Secretary, Clement Ojukwu were all placed under court order in addition to Abure.

According to Apapa, who spoke to journalists, the NWC also looked into the suspension of party members and the exco, which had previously been ordered by the party leadership.