Lagos Island Property Dispute Deepens As Catholic Archdiocese Challenges Court Ruling
By Sherif Salau
A long-running ownership dispute over a historic parcel of land on Lagos Island has returned to the courts, with the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos asking the Court of Appeal to overturn a High Court judgment that awarded the property to the Lagos State Government.
The contested site, located on Okoya Street in the Idumagbo area, houses St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and St. Patrick’s Catholic Primary School. In a judgment delivered on January 10, 2018, Justice I. O. Kasali of the Lagos State High Court declared the state government the owner of the land. The Archdiocese, acting through its Sole Trustee, has now pursued an appeal (CA/L/W/644/2019) arising from the original suit (LD/120/2000), seeking to set that decision aside.
At the heart of the Archdiocese’s case is a clear distinction it draws between the management of the school and ownership of the land itself. The church argues that the state government’s earlier takeover of the administration of St. Patrick’s Catholic Primary School did not, and could not, automatically transfer title to the entire property—including the church building and the surrounding plots.
According to the proposed amended notice of appeal, the Archdiocese traces its root of title to a conveyance dated September 15, 1938, obtained from the Lagos Executive Development Board and duly registered at the Lands Registry. It maintains that the government has not demonstrated any lawful acquisition or revocation of that proprietary interest. The disputed land is described as comprising Block 1, Plots 1, 2, 3, 16, 17 and 18, with specific reference to premises at 17/19 Okoya Street.
The Archdiocese is asking the appellate court not only to reverse the High Court judgment but also to dismiss the government’s counterclaim, set aside the purported acquisition of the school premises, and grant the church’s own counterclaim in full.
Property disputes involving religious institutions and the state are not uncommon in Lagos, where colonial-era conveyances, post-independence acquisitions and successive changes in land administration often create overlapping claims. What distinguishes this case is the presence of both a place of worship and a school on the same parcel—raising questions about the legal effect of government intervention in mission schools decades ago.
For the Archdiocese, the appeal is an effort to protect what it regards as longstanding ecclesiastical property. For the state, the earlier High Court decision affirmed public ownership. The Court of Appeal will now determine which interpretation of history and law prevails. Until then, the status of the Okoya Street property remains a live legal contest on Lagos Island.
