After being forced to leave a Victoria Island property due to a Federal High Court decision, Nigerian comedy icon Ali Baba is now at the center of a significant legal dispute. Court bailiffs carried out the eviction on August 28 after Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa revoked the sale of the property to Ali Baba and his business, XQZMOI TV.
The conflict began when 324A Akin Ogunlewe Street, a desirable property on Victoria Island, became the focus of a contentious ownership dispute. Harold Expansion Industries owed more than ₦617 million in loans from 2008, according to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), which claimed the company inherited from the now-defunct Bank PHB. Despite continuing legal action, AMCON sold the property to Ali Baba in 2021 for ₦220 million in order to recoup a portion of the debt.
But in a July 31 ruling, Justice Lewis-Allagoa dismissed AMCON’s case, finding that the company had not provided important supporting documentation, such as the defendant’s statement of accounts. The court also pointed out that Harold Expansion’s counterclaim was not addressed by AMCON. The judge ruled that AMCON’s case was seriously flawed in accordance with Section 131(1) of the Evidence Act of 2011.
The court took it a step further. It decided in Harold Expansion’s favor, awarding them a whopping ₦500 million in damages and directing the property to be returned to the original owner’s family.
The eviction represents a significant turn of events for Ali Baba, whose business XQZMOI TV used the property as its studio. Prior to becoming the buyer, he was the tenant, but since the court revoked AMCON’s sale, he is no longer in either position.
Discussions concerning AMCON’s management of confiscated property and the dangers buyers face when properties are sold while legal proceedings are still pending have been triggered by the ruling. Fans are wondering what will happen to one of Nigeria’s most adored comedians and his business endeavors after this shocking chapter in his life.
