Kaduna demolition: Matters arising

FOR obvious reasons, the demolition of a facility called Asher Kings and Queens Restaurant and Lounge located at Sabon Tasha in Kaduna, Kaduna State by the state government on December 31, 2020 has refused to leave the radar of public commentary. The state government demolished the facility on the heels of a widely condemned poster which appeared on social media inviting attendees to a “Kaduna Sex Party.” A statement issued on January 1 by the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency (KASUPDA) on behalf of the state government said that it demolished the structure because it was billed to host the alleged party. It said: “KASUPDA has demolished Asher Hotel in Barnawa Kaduna South. Asher Hotel was the proposed venue for the Kaduna Sex Party. The hotel was also caught contravening the Covid-19 guidelines of the state. KASUPDA will not hesitate to demolish properties used for such immoral acts.”

The Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Olusegun Runsewe, gave Governor Nasir El-Rufai kudos for the act. He said that “such sex party was a total disrespect for the Nigerian culture” and that the government “deserved kudos for its prompt response to the disgusting sex party by promptly demolishing the building as a warning to others who could be planning such immorality.” Condemnations have however trailed the government‘s action. On her part, the owner of the facility, Aisha Yakubu, debunked the government’s statement, lamenting that she had lost her one-month pregnancy as a result of the trauma she encountered while watching the demolition. She said: “There was nothing of that sort taking place at the restaurant and I wouldn’t stoop so low to entertain such illicit activity at my place. But the police refused to believe me and had my friend and two of my staff detained. The customer that had earlier hired the place for usage on that fateful day was also arrested the next day. They were released after paying a “bail fee” of #100,000 to one Inspector Felix and one other lady officer.”

She claimed that the said customer, whom she identified as Mr. Chimezie, had on December 27, 2020, “hired the VIP Lounge for a 15-man reunion/clothing line promo to appreciate his customers for their good patronage of his brands,” and that, upon arriving at the police station, “my customer enquired what the matter was and the police showed us a poster on a GSM phone belonging to one of the officers, Inspector Felix. It was a poster of an event titled Kaduna Sex Party, which the police claimed was scheduled to hold at my restaurant, even though with no address of where it was supposed to take place on the poster.”

Unable to respond to queries by concerned Nigerians, particularly lawyers, the Kaduna State government has been scrambling for fresh allegations to legitimize its impunity. Pray, why take precipitate action, then fish for excuses? Recently, the state government gave fresh reasons for its action, but these were diametrically opposed to its initial claim. This time around, it claimed that the building housing the demolished facility was illegally put up. The Director General of KASUPDA, Ismail Dikko, claimed that the demolition was not carried out because of the immoral party which it previously told the world, but that the government was in possession of records which “showed that the building housing Asher Lounge has neither a valid title nor development permit.”

To say the least, the demolition raises questions about impunity and lawlessness. On the first claim that the facility was proposed to be used as a sex party, hence its demolition, we are simply horrified. We find the claim utterly preposterous. It only recalls the familiar path of recklessness that many state governments have followed over the years. Assuming but not conceding that the said party was going to hold at the facility, there is no portion of the Nigerian law which gives a state government that kind of omnibus power to constitute itself into the accuser, judge and executioner. That is why there are courts of law. The court could have effectively ruled on the culpability or otherwise of Asher. We reckon that the allegation of performance or proposed performance of an immoral act against the owner and the facility does not have any root in law as every student of law knows that there is a wide gap between law and morality.

Second, there was nothing, to the best of our knowledge, which ties the advertisement on the social media with the Asher facility. The perpetrators did not indicate any venue on their poster. How did the government determine the proposed venue to be Asher and why the cheap reversal of reasons for the demolition? Again, the government told the world that Asher was a hotel but all evidence pointed to the fact that it was a restaurant. Was the claim that it was a hotel made to provoke outrage against the facility and legitimize the demolition? Worse still, the claim that the facility flouted some building laws in Kaduna State is flimsy. Assuming but not conceding that that really was the case, is demolition the next line of action? Why not go to court to show what sections of the law were violated?

No society should be run in this lawless manner. The Kaduna State government is not above the law and cannot constitute itself into a behemoth. There must be legal recompense for such actions.

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