Popular comedian Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, widely known as Ali Baba, and his company, XQZMOI TV, have been evicted from a Victoria Island property.

The eviction was carried out by bailiffs of the Federal High Court in Lagos, acting on a writ of possession issued on August 15, 2025.

The action followed a judgment delivered by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa on July 31, 2025, which dismissed a suit brought by Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), against Harold Expansion Industries Nigeria Limited and, critically, ruled in favour of Harold Expansion’s counterclaim.

The court’s decision reversed the sale of the property, located at 324A Akin Ogunlewe Street, and ordered its return to the family of the now-deceased original owner.

AMCON had initially filed the suit, claiming Harold Expansion Industries was indebted to the defunct Bank PhB (now Keystone Bank) to the tune of N617 million.

The corporation alleged that the loan was taken in three tranches in 2008, totalling N129 million, which AMCON subsequently took over.

To recover part of the alleged debt, AMCON was said to have sold the property to Ali Baba for ?220 million, even as it claimed a balance of N616.1 million was still owed.

However, Harold Expansion Industries, through its lawyer, Benjamin Olayiwola Sadibo, denied the debt.

The company’s counterclaim stated that the N129 million was a consolidated and restructured sum from the original loans, with repayments having been made since the first loan was taken in January 2008.

In his judgment, Justice Lewis-Allagoa identified two key issues: whether AMCON had proven 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 had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support its claims.

He noted that AMCON did not exhibit the defendant’s statement of account, a crucial piece of evidence for a creditor claiming a debt.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa stated that this failure was fatal to the plaintiff’s case and, as a result, dismissed AMCON’s suit.

Regarding the counterclaim, the judge pointed out that AMCON had failed to file a defence.

“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,” he stated.

Consequently, the court entered judgment in favour of Harold Expansion Industries, granting all the reliefs sought, including an order for the return of the property and N500 million in damages against AMCON.

It would be recalled that Ali Baba purchased the property in 2021 for N220 million while the case was still in court, despite an existing order for AMCON to preserve the property pending the suit’s determination.

The comedian was allegedly a tenant of the property’s original owner before AMCON forcefully evicted the family and sold it to him.

The owner reportedly passed away shortly after the eviction. The premises, which comprise two large duplexes, had been fully occupied by Ali Baba’s company, XQZMOI, serving as its studios. (Nigerian Tribune)

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