Governor sacks task force over building demolition

Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu has dissolved the state’s Planning and Development Control Task Force following the demolition of a nearly completed private building, an incident he described as an abuse of power and violation of citizens’ rights.

Mr Otu also ordered compensation for the property owner and suspended further demolition work on the affected property, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by the governor’s spokesperson, Linus Obogo.

The governor said the demolition by task force personnel was an indefensible exercise of public authority, insisting that alleged breaches of physical planning regulations did not justify arbitrary actions against citizens.

He said government agencies must operate within the law and respect due process, warning that public office was not a licence for intimidation or oppression.

“I have ordered the immediate dissolution of the State Planning and Development Control Task Force responsible for this incident, the suspension of further demolition activities on the affected property, and the payment of appropriate compensation for the damages occasioned,” Mr Otu said in a statement he posted on his Facebook page.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered from Facebook posts made by Cross River residents that the property belongs to a Nigerian based in New York, United States, and was demolished on 14 August, despite reportedly having a temporary building permit.

The governor described the action of the task force as gross team failure, adding that his administration would not protect public officials found to have abused their authority.

Questions over task force’s preparedness

Mr Otu inaugurated the Planning and Development Control Task Force in February, about six months before the demolition of the property.

However, a PREMIUM TIMES review of the Cross River State 2026 budget raises questions about the task force’s institutional preparedness and the resources provided for its operations.

The task force was not specifically captured in the budget, and no provision for its training was identified in the document reviewed by this newspaper.

The absence of a clearly identifiable budgetary provision for the task force, particularly for training, raises questions about the preparation and oversight arrangements under which its personnel began enforcing physical planning regulations.

The governor’s dissolution of the task force and compensation order stands as an official response to the incident. 

Mr Otu said his administration would insist on accountability and would not tolerate the arbitrary exercise of public power.