• It’s executive recklessness, says ex-governor’s lawyer
From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Ogun State Government has said the DATKEM Plaza, Ijebu Ode, a property owned by Olufunke, wife of former governor now senator, Gbenga Daniel, was demolished because it is an illegal structure without an approved plan.
The structure, government added, also contravened the state’s physical planning laws.
The demolition occurred at 3a.m. yesterday. Project Manager and developer of the five-storey plaza situated on Folagbade Street, Ijebu-Ode, said building had been under construction since 2009 and had received full approval from the state government. He said it was scheduled for commissioning by the end of September before its abrupt demolition, thereby raising speculation about political rift between Governor Dapo Abiodun and former governor, Daniel.
But government, in a statement by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olayiwola Abiodun, said the structure violated the building codes of the state with numerous defects.
He said several efforts made by the government to halt further development on site were ignored by the developers.
He said government officials requested the structural engineer in charge of the building to avail the state of the structural equilibrium of the building, a request that was ignored.
The statement recalled the various incidences of building disasters across the country, adding that government would not fold its arm and allow any such occurrence. It noted that many of such disasters, such as fire outbreaks at Ikorodu, led to the loss of lives.
According to the permanent secretary, what government did in partially pulling down the defective building was to be proactive.
Abiodun challenged the owners of the structure to produce evidence of government’s approval in their possession.
He said for a commercial building of that status, there must be parking space to accommodate vehicular traffic within and outside the facility for workers and visitors. The provision of the law is for 45 to 50 per cent of available land for construction as a build able area. The permanent secretary added that the building lacked stage certification, which is usually issued at every stage of construction. He said owners were served the necessary notices, including abatement, contravention, stop work and demolition between May and October 2022, which were ignored.
Reacting to the demolition, Adeyinka Kotoye of Page Law office, legal firm representing Yeye Olufunke Daniel, in a statement, expressed shock and worry that government ignored court papers served on its agents on Thursday, September 7 asking them to stop all actions on the building. He said the matter began when the Ogun State Planning and Development Authority sealed the building on August 1 without any prior notice.
“Interestingly, a quit notice was only served August 31 by the same Planning and Development Authority asking the owner to vacate the premises within three days.
“Meanwhile, DAKTEM applied for unsealing and regularisation of the building on August 2 and paid mandatory fee of N500,000 to the Ogun State government. We have evidence of this payment. However, we were shocked and astonished that the Ogun State government ignored the ongoing legal process and went ahead to demolish the complex in the early hours of Sunday. We want to believe the state attorney general’s advice was ignored on this matter.
“Our clients, as law abiding citizens of Ogun State, will continue to seek redress in the courts. Even when our clients have suffered unimaginable and huge losses as a result of this illegal demolition, we will not relent in pursuing justice in the courts.
“I want to believe that the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, was not informed of this illegality. But if he was informed and still decided to use the instruments of the state against our clients, it is nothing but executive recklessness. But we will continue to fight for justice and ensure that for our clients,” the statement stated.
But the state government said DATKEM Enterprises Limited submitted application for an office building, located on Ibadan Road, Ijebu Ode in 2009 with registration number CB/05/299/2009.
“The proposal was for five floors with airspace of three metres at the right, five metre at the left, five metre at the rear and a setback of 32.5516 metres to the middle of Ijebu Ode/Ibadan road, Ijebu-Ode.
“The Zonal Town Planning Office observed during routine monitoring that the construction on site did not conform with the plan granted as there was a deviation from the airspaces and setback.
“In addition, the building had been modified and enlarged with an additional storey building at the back thereby becoming over density.
“In view of the above, the following actions were taken:
“Contravention Notice with Serial No. 0106983 was served on May 24, 2022. Stop Work Order with Serial No. 000623 was served on May 24, 2022.
“Another Stop Work Order with Serial No. 001065 was served on July 22, 2022 when the first notice was ignored. Demolition Notice with Serial No. 0007549 was served on October 11, 2022. Notice to seal with Serial No. 000815 was served on October 4, 2022.”
The statement noted further that despite all the notices, the developer was recalcitrant and continued with the construction work.
“This prompted the re-sealing of the site on August 1, 2023. But the sealing did not stop the developer from further construction as work continued on the site.
“However, the developer wrote an appeal for unsealing, which was considered so as to evacuate the belongings in the premises. Thereafter, quit notice with Serial No. 0030750 was served on August 31, 2023.
“In view of the above, since the developer had remained recalcitrant, the Zonal Town Planning Office’s recommendation for the demolition of the office building was upheld,” the statement added.
The government reiterated its avowed commitment to ensure the safety of its citizens, adding that any defective buildings in any part of the state will be demolished to safeguard the lives of the people.