By peterside Rejoice Eneky
Popular comedian and businessman, Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, widely known as Ali Baba, has been evicted from a multi-million-naira mansion in Victoria Island, Lagos, after a Federal High Court ruled that the property was wrongfully sold to him by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
On Thursday, August 28, 2025, court bailiffs stormed No. 324A, Akin Ogunlewe Street, Victoria Island, to enforce a writ of possession signed by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa on August 15. The eviction ended Ali Baba’s four-year occupancy of the estate, which also served as the headquarters of his entertainment company, XQZMOI TV Studios.
The property, comprising two duplexes with a prime view of the Atlantic Ocean, was returned to the family of its late owner and their firm, Harold Expansion Industries Nigeria Limited. The court found that AMCON had illegally sold the estate to Ali Baba in 2021 for N220 million while litigation over its ownership was still pending.
Investigations revealed that Ali Baba had initially been a tenant before AMCON allegedly forcefully evicted the original owner and his family, reportedly giving them less than five hours to vacate. Family sources maintained that the traumatic eviction contributed to the death of the businessman shortly afterwards.
The legal dispute traces back to loans allegedly obtained by Harold Expansion Industries from the defunct Bank PHB, now Keystone Bank. AMCON claimed the company owed N617 million, citing facilities of N60 million in May 2008, N20 million in January 2008, and N30 million in August 2008. It argued that despite selling the property for N220 million, the company still owed N616.1 million.
Harold Expansion Industries, however, through its counsel, Benjamin Olayiwola Sadibo, denied the debt and insisted that the N129 million facility was restructured in 2009 with repayments deducted directly by the bank. The company counterclaimed, demanding the reversal of AMCON’s sale, repossession of the property, and N500 million damages.
In a landmark judgment delivered on July 31, 2015, Justice Lewis-Allagoa dismissed AMCON’s claims, ruling that the agency failed to produce crucial evidence, including the company’s statement of account, to substantiate its debt claim. Citing Section 131(1) of the Evidence Act 2011, the court held that AMCON bore a heavy burden of proof, which it failed to meet.
“The plaintiff, being an alleged creditor, has a duty not only to parade loan documents but also to demonstrate how it arrived at the alleged debt. Its failure to produce the statement of account is fatal to its case,” the judge declared.
The court consequently ordered AMCON to return the property, release all title documents, and pay N500 million in damages. With the writ now executed, Ali Baba and his company have lost the Victoria Island estate, marking the dramatic end of one of the most high-profile property disputes involving AMCON in recent years.
As of press time, Ali Baba has yet to issue an official statement on the development. Calls and messages to his contacts remained unanswered.
The judgment has been welcomed by property rights advocates, who described it as a victory against what they termed AMCON’s high-handed recovery practices. Legal observers also believe the ruling could set a precedent for other property owners currently in dispute with the corporation.
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