LAGOS, Nigeria — Popular comedian Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, widely known as Ali Baba, and his media company, XQZMOI TV, have been evicted from a property in Victoria Island after a Federal High Court ruling nullified his purchase.
The eviction was carried out by court bailiffs on Friday, August 15, 2025, acting on a writ of possession issued after Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa dismissed a suit filed by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and upheld a counterclaim by Harold Expansion Industries Nigeria Limited.
The property, located at 324A Akin Ogunlewe Street, was ordered to be returned to the family of its original owner, now deceased.
AMCON had claimed that Harold Expansion was indebted to the defunct Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank) to the tune of ₦617 million and said it sold the Victoria Island property to Ali Baba in 2021 for ₦220 million as part of debt recovery.
But Harold Expansion denied the debt, arguing that the ₦129 million referenced by AMCON was a consolidated and restructured loan that had been repaid.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa ruled that AMCON failed to prove its case, citing the absence of the defendant’s statement of account as a critical omission.
“This failure was fatal to the plaintiff’s case,” the judge stated, dismissing the suit in its entirety.
The court also ruled in favour of Harold Expansion’s counterclaim after AMCON failed to file a defence, awarding all reliefs sought, including the return of the property and ₦500 million in damages.
Ali Baba bought the property in 2021 while the dispute was still in court, despite an existing preservation order.
Reports indicate he had previously been a tenant of the original owner before AMCON evicted the family and transferred the property to him.
The family of the late owner has now regained control of the premises, which had been used by XQZMOI as studio space.
