Popular comedian Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, popularly known as Ali Baba, has been evicted from his Victoria Island property following a Federal High Court ruling that nullified the sale of the estate by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
On Thursday, August 28, 2025, court bailiffs executed a writ of possession at No. 324A Akin Ogunlewe Street, Victoria Island, in accordance with an order issued by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa on August 15, 2025. The property, which previously housed Ali Baba’s XQZMOI TV studios, has now been returned to the family of its late owner, as well as to Harold Expansion Industries Nigeria Limited, the original proprietors.
The legal battle centers on a controversial sale by AMCON in 2021, when the estate was reportedly sold to Ali Baba for ₦220 million, despite ongoing litigation over its ownership. Reports indicate that the comedian initially occupied the property as a tenant. The forced eviction carried out by AMCON allegedly allowed the late owner and his family less than five hours to vacate the premises. The businessman reportedly passed away shortly after the eviction.
The estate, comprising two duplexes with views of the Atlantic Ocean, later became the operational base for XQZMOI TV until the court’s recent order mandated vacating the property.
The dispute arose from claims that Harold Expansion Industries owed a loan to the now-defunct Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank), which AMCON acquired. AMCON asserted that the company’s debt had grown to ₦617 million. However, the company, represented by counsel Benjamin Olayiwola Sadibo, denied any such indebtedness.
The ruling underscores ongoing tensions surrounding AMCON’s management of distressed assets and has drawn attention to the rights of property owners and tenants in Lagos’s high-value real estate sector.
