Wale Igbintade
The Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos has approached the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, seeking to overturn a judgment of the Lagos State High Court declaring the state government the owner of a disputed property at No. 17/19 Okoya Street, Idumagbo, Lagos Island.
The archdiocese, through the Sole Trustee of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, is challenging the judgment delivered by Justice I. O. Kasali on January 10, 2018, arguing that the government’s takeover of St. Patrick’s Catholic Primary School did not automatically confer ownership of the entire property on the state.
In its proposed amended notice of appeal, filed in Appeal No. CA/L/W/644/2019, arising from Suit No. LD/120/2000, the church maintained that it acquired the property from the Lagos Executive Development Board through a conveyance dated September 15, 1938.
The conveyance, according to the archdiocese, was registered as No. 27 at page 27 in Volume 483 at the Lands Registry, Alausa, and constitutes documentary evidence of its title to the land.
The appellant argued that there was no evidence that its proprietary interest in the property had been lawfully acquired or revoked by the Lagos State Government.
It described the disputed property as a large expanse of land comprising Block 1, Plots 1, 2, 3, 16, 17 and 18, on which St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and the primary school are situated.
The church contended that the government’s claim related to the school and did not extend to the church premises or the entire property.
It faulted the trial court for failing to distinguish between the school premises and other facilities on the land, including a dilapidated building that previously served as a school building and church hall before the construction of a new school.
According to the Archdiocese, the old structure continued to serve as a church hall for Sunday services and other religious activities, adding that the government had never used the building after assuming control of the school.
The appellant argued that the trial court erred in declaring the entire property government-owned and granting possession to the state without sufficient evidence establishing the precise boundaries and extent of the land allegedly acquired.
It maintained that the government failed to produce the relevant acquisition instrument or establish the specific portion of the property covered by the purported acquisition.
The church also challenged the trial court’s reliance on the parties’ alleged admission that the government assumed control and management of schools in 1979, during the administration of former Governor Lateef Jakande.
It argued that an admission that the government took over the management of a school could not, in itself, establish ownership of the land on which the school stood.
The archdiocese further contended that the government failed to demonstrate that the takeover of St. Patrick’s Catholic Primary School extended to the abandoned building and other portions of the property claimed by the church.
It also faulted the trial judge for allegedly failing to properly evaluate evidence elicited from government witnesses under cross-examination, which the appellant said supported its position that the government took over the school rather than the entire property.
The church equally challenged the dismissal of its counterclaim, insisting that its documentary evidence of title and longstanding exercise of ownership rights over the property entitled it to the reliefs sought.
In support of its appeal, the archdiocese cited judicial authorities on proof of title to land, the requirements for granting declaratory reliefs and the obligation of parties in land disputes to establish the precise identity and extent of the property in contention.
It also questioned the legal basis for the alleged acquisition, arguing that the government failed to establish compliance with applicable laws governing the acquisition of private property, including the Land Use Act and Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution.
The appellant further faulted the trial court for allegedly failing to consider the decision in Archbishop Okogie v. Attorney-General of Lagos State (1981) 2 NCLR 337, which it cited in support of its arguments concerning the legal framework governing the acquisition of private primary schools in Lagos State.
The archdiocese is asking the Court of Appeal to allow its appeal and set aside the judgment declaring the Lagos State Government the owner of the disputed property.
It is also seeking an order dismissing the government’s counterclaim, setting aside the purported acquisition of the premises of St. Patrick’s Catholic Primary School at No. 17/19 Okoya Street, Idumagbo, and granting its own counterclaim in its entirety.
The proposed amended notice of appeal contains 10 grounds challenging the trial court’s findings on ownership, the alleged acquisition, the evaluation of evidence and the dismissal of the church’s counterclaim.