Demolition orders do not have option of fine—Town planners

Settlement experts, popularly known as town planners, said there can’t be option of fine when a defective building is served demolition order.

The view may not be unconnected with the controversies trailing the demolition of DATKEM Plaza in Ijebu Ode area of Ogun State by the authority.

Lending his view, former president of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Stephen Onu, said if all necessary notices were served and ignored by the developer, he had himself to blame.

According to him, demolition orders do not have an option of fine, especially when the structure is confirmed as defective.

He said the developer should not have been so careless by ignoring served notices and government’ directives.

“The issues are coming out. If all these notices were served and ignored by the developer, then he had himself to blame. Demolition orders do not have an option of fine, especially when the structure is confirmed as defective,” Onu said.

However, he said the courts are there to hear both sides.

Newly-elected president, Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), Mr Bisi Adedire, said there won’t be any option of fine but to demolish if the property is injurious to the community.

Besides, he said that property could be demolished for overriding public interest.

Stating the scenario where option of fine could be allowed, Adedire said if the owner of the property appealed on the fact that the structure can still pass the test of physical planning, he could be penalised.

Although, Ogun State government had said the demolition of DATKEM Plaza in Ijebu Ode area was not political motivated, members of the public are still finding it difficult to believe.

The state authority said the officials of the Ministry of Physical and Urban Development only carried out due diligence of ensuring safe development across the state.

Speaking last week at a press conference in Abeokuta, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development in Ogun State, Abimbola Abiodun, said the development of the five -storey plaza contravened the Ogun State Physical Planning and Development Regulation.

The permanent secretary explained that the plaza is an illegal structure without an approved plan.

“There is no political undertone in the whole process. As of May last year, a Stop Work Order was served on the developer. On October 4, 2022, another ‘Stop Work Order’ was served. By October 11, 2022 , seven days later, a demolition order was served. There was no political activities at these periods.

“The demolition order ought to have been carried out within 21 days but we didn’t pull the structure down. We carried out the demolition after the developer ignored and frustrated all government efforts to salvage the situation,” he said.

According to the permanent secretary, the plaza did not only contravened the state’s physical planning laws, it also violated the building codes of the state with numerous defects.

He stated that, several efforts were made and notices served by the state government to halt further development on site, but the developer ignored them.

He explained that DATKEM Enterprises Limited applied to construct an office complex located on Ibadan Road, Ijebu Ode, in 2009 with registration number CB/05/299/2009.

“The proposal was for five (5) floors with an airspace of three metres at the right, five metres at the left, and five metres 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 to the plan granted as there was a deviation from the airspace and setbacks,” he said.

Abiodun added that 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. The 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, and Notice to Seal with Serial No. 000815 was served on October 4, 2022.”

Meanwhile, the lawyer to the former governor’s wife, Mr Adeyinka Kotoye (SAN), said the state government ignored the relevant court papers served on them on September 7, 2023, not to go ahead with the vandalisation and demolition of DATKEM Plaza.

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