Popular Nigerian comedian, Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, famously known as Ali Baba, has been evicted from a high-value property on Victoria Island, Lagos, following a Federal High Court ruling that returned ownership to the family of the original owner.
The property, located at 324A Akin Ogunlewe Street, had been at the centre of a legal dispute between the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and Harold Expansion Industries Nigeria Limited.
The eviction, carried out by court bailiffs on August 15, 2025, followed a judgment delivered on July 31, 2025, by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, who dismissed AMCON’s case and upheld a counterclaim by Harold Expansion Industries. The court not only reversed the sale of the property to Ali Baba but also ordered the return of the premises to the original owner’s family and awarded ₦500 million in damages against AMCON.
AMCON had claimed that Harold Expansion owed ₦617 million from loans originally taken from the now-defunct Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank) in three tranches in 2008. The total loan sum, according to AMCON, was ₦129 million, which it took over as part of its role in managing toxic debts in the banking sector.
To recover part of the alleged debt, AMCON reportedly sold the Victoria Island property to Ali Baba in 2021 for ₦220 million, despite an ongoing court case and a standing order to preserve the property until judgment was delivered.
Harold Expansion Industries, through its legal counsel Benjamin Olayiwola Sadibo, denied AMCON’s debt claim, stating that the ₦129 million was a restructured and consolidated sum from earlier loans, and that repayments had been made over time.
The company filed a counterclaim, insisting that AMCON’s sale of the property was illegal and that the loan had either been settled or was not as presented.
In reviewing the matter, Justice Lewis-Allagoa raised two central questions: whether AMCON proved its case, and whether Harold Expansion was entitled to its counterclaim.
Citing Section 131(1) of the Evidence Act, 2011, the judge ruled that AMCON failed to present sufficient evidence to support its claims. Notably, AMCON did not provide a statement of account, which is considered essential when a creditor is alleging that a debtor has defaulted.
“The plaintiff failed to exhibit the defendant’s statement of account,” the judge said, adding that this omission was “fatal” to the case.
As a result, the court dismissed AMCON’s suit in its entirety.
On the counterclaim, the court also noted that AMCON failed to file any defence, which the judge said was “tantamount to admitting the claim.”
“Where a defendant counterclaims against a claimant, the latter is duty-bound to file a defence to the counterclaim; otherwise, the court is obliged to assume that the claimant has no defence,” Justice Lewis-Allagoa ruled.
The court then granted all reliefs sought by Harold Expansion Industries, including the return of the property and ₦500 million in damages against AMCON.
Ali Baba, who reportedly bought the property in 2021 while the case was still active, found himself on the losing side of the legal tussle. He had allegedly been a tenant of the original owner before AMCON forcibly evicted the family and sold the building to him.
According to reports, the property was used by Ali Baba’s media company, XQZMOI, as its operational headquarters, including studios and offices. The complex consists of two large duplexes, fully occupied by the company before the recent eviction.
The original owner of the property reportedly passed away shortly after the eviction, deepening the emotional and legal weight of the dispute.
While Ali Baba himself has not yet made a public comment on the eviction, legal observers say the case raises serious questions about how AMCON manages properties under litigation and the due diligence expected of buyers when acquiring such assets.
