Uproar as Ogun govt reduces Gbenga Daniel’s Datkem Plaza to rubble

 

IJEBU-ODE, Ogun, Nigeria – The decision of the Ogun State Government to pull down the five storey Datkem Plaza, property of Yeye Olufunke Daniel, wife of former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel seems to have unsettled residents of Ijebu-Ode, where the plaza is situated.

It was a very rowdy session early Sunday morning, when in the presence of the former governor, and many aggrieved residents, the bulldozers acting on the order of the state government pulled down an imposing structure that offered employment opportunities for residents of the area.

Reacting to the development, Counsel to the Gbenga Family,  A.M Kotoye SAN  said his firm is shocked by decision of the government to demolish Datkem Plaza in Ijebu-Ode, irrespective of court papers served on agents of the governor on Thursday September 7, asking government to stop action on the building.

“This matter began  when the Ogun State Planing and Development Authority sealed the building on August 1 without any prior notice. Interestingly, a quit notice was only served on August 31 by the same planning authority asking the owner to vacate the premises within three days”, the lawyer said.

The lawyer noted that Datkem applied for unsealing and regularisation of the building on August 2 and paid the mandatory N500,000  to the Ogun state government.

“We were shocked that the Ogun state government ignored the ongoing legal process and went ahead to demolish the complex in the early hours of Sunday”, the lawyer said, adding that the advice of Attorney General of the state may have been ignored in carrying out the demolition.

He added that though his client has suffered unimaginable  losses as a result of the illegal demolition he will continue pursuing justice in the courts.

Kotoye said it would be an executive recklessness for the state governor to use instruments of the state against his client if he was well informed of the ongoing legal process before the exercise.