By Bukola Sunday Odediran, MNITP, RTP
Registered Town Planner & GIS Analyst, Royal Bricks Consult, Akure
The professional practice of Development Control — a crucial pillar of urban management — continues to face growing threats across Nigeria. The recent confrontation in Abuja involving the FCTA Department of Development Control and the former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo (rtd), underscores the grave risks faced by planning officers enforcing lawful directives.
According to credible reports, the former Naval Chief allegedly deployed armed military escorts to prevent enforcement officials from halting his unapproved building project, lacking both title documents and development permits. Armed men reportedly threatened to shoot any officer attempting to access the site. The matter only subsided after the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, intervened personally.
This single event reveals the deep institutional disregard for planning authority and the vulnerability of professionals tasked with ensuring compliance.
Unsafe Terrain for Development Control Officers
Town planning officers, especially in development control units, routinely face harassment, assault, and intimidation while executing legitimate duties. The lack of institutional protection emboldens violators and weakens urban governance.
Incidents across the federation include:
A former national leader who ordered officers to “do frog jump” on site;
Military personnel who inflicted permanent injuries on planners;
Religious leaders who brandished weapons at enforcement teams;
Families of planners targeted in revenge attacks.
Some officers now live with chronic illnesses, trauma, or blindness, while others have lost their lives. Despite this, no statutory insurance or compensation scheme protects them.
Consequences for Sustainable Development
The cumulative effect is urban chaos. When enforcement officers are silenced by threats, the result is illegal developments, environmental degradation, traffic congestion, and public hazards. Every unapproved building today is a potential disaster tomorrow.
Society must recognize that town planning enforcement is not oppression — it is an act of public service. Those who obstruct lawful enforcement undermine collective safety and sustainable development goals.
Policy Recommendations
To safeguard urban order and professional integrity, the following measures are urgent:
1. Legal Protection: Amend planning laws to criminalize assault or obstruction of planning officers.
2. Institutional Support: Provide security escorts, legal backing, and health insurance for development control staff.
3. Public Awareness: Launch continuous campaigns on the importance of building approvals and the risks of illegal construction.
4. Inter-Agency Collaboration: Strengthen cooperation between planning authorities, law enforcement, and the judiciary to ensure swift justice.
5. Professional Recognition: Encourage the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) and TOPREC to document and report attacks for national advocacy.
Conclusion
The assault on town planners is an assault on order, governance, and national progress. When a military officer or politician defies planning law, the result is not just a structure built in illegality — it is a foundation laid in lawlessness.
To achieve sustainable urbanization and a livable Nigeria, we must empower and protect those enforcing urban order.
Let’s stand with the planners.
Let’s uphold the law.
And above all, let town planning breathe.
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