Sex Party: Kaduna govt makes U-turn, gives fresh reason for hotel demolition

The Kaduna agency said government records “showed that the building housing Asher Lounge has neither a valid title nor development permit.”

The Kaduna State Government has given fresh reasons why it ordered the demolition of Asher Hotel and Lounge which it earlier said it did because of a planned nude party.

The Kaduna government has now said the building housing the hotel is illegal hence its demolition.

Last week, the social media was abuzz with the demolition of the hotel by the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency, (KASUPDA).

The agency said it did this on the orders of the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, alleging that a nude party was to hold at Asher.

“KASUPDA have demolished Asher Hotel in Barnawa Kaduna South,” the agency said on January 1. “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 act,” the agency posted on Twitter.

The demolition was criticised by many Nigerians.

PREMIUM TIMES also reported how the owner of the hotel threatened to sue the Kaduna government, saying no sex party was scheduled to hold at the building.

U-turn
In a statement on Tuesday, signed by the Director General of KASUPDA, Ismail Dikko, the agency said the demolition was not hinged on the supposed “immoral” party as previously posited.

Mr Dilkko said government records “showed that the building housing Asher Lounge has neither a valid title nor development permit.”

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Read the full statement below:

“On Thursday, 31st December 2020, the Kaduna State Urban Development and Planning Authority (KASUPDA) took action to remove the building housing Asher Lounge.

Since this enforcement action, much of the commentary on the matter has centred on the inaccurate statement from KASUPDA’s Twitter account. While regretting the inaccuracy of the handler of our social media account, there is no reservation about the steps taken pursuant to enforce the laws and regulations of Kaduna State on a property that was in violation of its provisions.

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Since 26th March 2020, the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Partial Lockdown Order, 2020 have been in force in Kaduna State. Although some of the regulations were significantly relaxed in June 2020, they were tightened again in December 2020 in response to a second wave of Covid-19 infections.”

Indications that an activity in violation of the COVID regulations was planned to be held in Asher Lounge drew attention to the property and made it necessary to examine the status of the building. Checks of government records showed that the building housing Asher Lounge has neither a valid title nor development permit. Once due diligence revealed the illegal status of the building, there was need for enforcement action without the notification requirements that the law compels for holders of valid title and development permits.

The illegal status of the building became a very separate matter from the trigger event: the third-party elements who had planned and advertised an unlawful gathering on those premises.

ALSO READ: ‘Sex Party’: Controversy trails Kaduna govt’s demolition of building
Violation of a set of rules and regulations may lead to a focus on the status of compliance with other laws and regulations. This happened in the case of a school whose management were caught flouting Covid-19 regulations. This led the relevant authorities to check official records which revealed the school to be a serial violator, quite apart from the Covid-19 infraction that drew attention in the first place.

It is sadly true that many people have developed property without bothering to acquire valid title or secure development permit. Aware of such mass infractions, the Kaduna State Government has created a pathway since 2015 to enable people to regularise their titles and move away from illegality. KASUPDA has also tried to assist willing citizens to obtain development permits for new projects and to remedy their lack of same for extant projects.

More recently, Kaduna State Government officials across agencies have been engaged in the Public Service on Wheels programme. As the development control agency, KASUPDA has been an active participant in this programme along with KADGIS, the agency responsible for land administration in the state.

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By virtue of various land administration and development control initiatives conceived and implemented in the last five years, there is no excuse for anyone in Kaduna State to remain without valid title to their property and permits for any development thereon. Residents that have taken advantage of this opportunity have thereby been assisted to vest their property with legal status. Those who have chosen to remain in violation and have shunned opportunities to regularise their status cannot argue from sentiment when enforcement actions are taken.

There are many properties in Kaduna State that are in this category. Their sheer number means that KASUPDA does not have the staff strength to undertake enforcement action on all of them. But those whose cases come to agency’s attention and are found not to have the necessary papers cannot expect inaction.