Catholics Raise Alarm As Kaduna Girls Guide Allegedly Plots To Sell Church Land, Cemetery

The Catholic community in Kaduna has raised the alarm over alleged encroachment and attempted sale of its land, including a cemetery, behind Government Girls Secondary School (WTC), along Independence Way, Kaduna, by the Girl Guides Association, Kaduna State chapter.

In a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Kenneth Ibrahim, and Secretary, Mrs Olivia Samuel, the Concerned Catholic Brethren, Kaduna, on Friday, said the entire stretch of land from Masaba Road, where the Priests’ Burial Ground is located, to the Police College Roundabout, originally belonged to the Catholic Church, being the proprietor of the then Our Lady of Apostles Teachers College for Women.

According to the statement, in the early 1970s, the government took over the school, which became known as Women Teachers College (WTC). Following the takeover, portions of the land were allocated to the Police Training School, while the local government took over the primary school section.

It stated that what was left to the Catholic Church as the original owner includes the Priests’ Cemetery, Our Lady Primary School, Sacred Heart Primary School, and Mother Gregory Hall, located by the cemetery, a fact it said is well known to area residents.

The statement noted that the portion now in contention is the parcel where Mother Gregory Hall is situated, adjacent to the Priests’ Cemetery.

It explained that the Church was running a school on the said land, but when the Priests’ Burial Ground became full and required extension, the school was discontinued. The hall was made available to voluntary organisations, including the Scouts, Man O’ War and Girl Guides, for training purposes for over 30 years without any payment to the Church.

“To our surprise, early this year, we discovered that the Girl Guides allegedly procured documents and processed a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) through the previous administration,” the statement said.

The group questioned how an organisation with no original title, deed of assignment or evidence of purchase from the original owner could claim ownership of land that includes a burial ground.

It further alleged that some individuals claiming to represent the association had been advertising the land for sale, removing its signposts at night and boasting of possessing a C of O.

The group, therefore, notified the general public that the said land is not for sale, that it was falsely claimed by the Girl Guides, that the Girl Guides Association is not an association under the Catholic Church and that members of the public should not enter into any transaction with anyone purporting to sell the land on behalf of the Girl Guides.

It added that the land remains the property of the Catholic Church in Kaduna and advised those seeking clarification to contact the Church’s leadership in Kaduna.

Efforts to get the reaction of the Girl Guides Association, Kaduna State chapter, and Mrs Kantiok, a prominent member of the Kaduna Girls Guild, were unsuccessful as at press time.