Court Evicts Ali Baba from N220m Lagos Property, Rules Against AMCON

Popular Nigerian comedian Atunyota Akpobome, better known as Ali Baba, has been evicted from a property worth N220 million on Victoria Island, Lagos, following a court ruling against the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

The judgment, delivered on 31 July by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos, dismissed AMCON’s suit and ordered that the property located at 324A Akin Ogunlewe Street be returned to the family of its late owner and their company, Harold Expansion Industries Nigeria Limited. Bailiffs enforced the order after a writ of possession was issued on 15 August and carried out the eviction on 28 August. The property had served as the studio of Ali Baba’s XQZMOI TV.

The dispute traces back to 2008 when AMCON claimed that Harold Expansion owed N617 million in loans originally taken from the defunct Bank PHB, now Keystone Bank. AMCON said it acquired the debt and sold the property to Ali Baba in 2021 for N220 million. However, Harold Expansion, represented by its lawyer Benjamin Sadibo, denied owing the debt, arguing that the N129 million facility had been consolidated and restructured in 2009, with repayments deducted directly from its account. The company counterclaimed, asking the court to declare it not indebted, reverse the sale, restore possession of the property, and award N500 million in damages.

In his judgment, Justice Lewis-Allagoa ruled that AMCON failed to prove its case, noting that the agency did not provide essential evidence such as the company’s statement of account. He stressed that the burden of proof rested on AMCON. On the counterclaim, the judge pointed out that AMCON filed no defence, which meant the reliefs sought by Harold Expansion were granted.

The ruling has now restored the property to the family after more than a decade of legal battle. Established in 2010, AMCON was created to stabilise the financial system by acquiring non-performing loans from banks and recovering debts, but its methods and asset sales have frequently attracted public criticism, as seen in this case involving the veteran comedian.