It had been underway since New Year's Eve, defying a curfew and restrictions on mass gatherings, according to officials.

Around 2500 revelers from across the country attended the party in a disused warehouse in Johan near in some clash with police as soon as the party kicked off on Thursday evening, needing the force toe wait for reinforcements to be deployed before moving in to end the rave.

According to the head of the local prefecture Emmanuel Birthday, those attending the party threw bottles and rocks at police and several officers suffered minor injuries.

A police car also caught fire and three others were damaged.

Birthday added that about 800 partygoers were sanctioned for attending an illegal party, breaking curfew and not wearing masks.

The rest were mostly issued notices for using illegal drugs.

There were also a least five arrests and sound and lighting equipment was seized.