Peter Okoye Testifies In EFCC Case Against Brother Jude
A dramatic family feud played out in the courtroom on Monday as Peter Okoye, one-half of the famed Nigerian music duo P-Square, testified against his elder brother and former manager, Jude Okoye, in an ongoing trial over alleged money laundering involving over ₦1.3 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.
The trial, which commenced before Justice Alexander Owoeye at the Federal High Court in Lagos, centers around serious financial misconduct allegations against Jude Okoye and his company, Northside Music Limited.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed a seven-count charge against him following a petition by his younger brother, Peter.
As evidenced by EFCC counsel Larry Peter Aso, Peter testified about how he came to suspect his brother of mismanaging and diverting funds that were due to the music group.
“Psquare started in 1997/98. Before Jude became our manager, we had others, including Chioma Ugochi and the late Howie-T. But when Jude came on board, things changed. He was the sole signatory to all our accounts–Ecobank, Zenith, and FCMB,” Peter testified.
Peter explained that this arrangement led to frequent disputes and left him unable to access funds.
“There were months I couldn’t access money. It was so bad that I had to go through our lawyer, Festus Keyamo, to create a sharing formula.”
He recalled a particularly frustrating incident while constructing his house in Ikoyi.
“The house project was financed by Northwest Entertainment Ltd, but for six months, they stopped funding mine. When I asked why, I was told, ‘As you leave P-Square, you leave the money.’ That was when I knew something wasn’t right.”
Jude’s alleged fraudulent schemes
Things took a darker turn when Peter discovered a company named Northside Music Limited, allegedly created by Jude without the knowledge of the other group members.
He said it mirrored their official company, Northside Entertainment Ltd, and appeared to be collecting royalties due to Psquare.
“By 2022, when people wanted to acquire our albums, I requested a statement of account,” he said. “But Jude refused. Even the account officers at Zenith Bank told me he instructed them not to give me access. They said the only way I could get the documents was through the court.”
Peter testified that, to his dismay, he discovered that the same aggregators managing P-Square’s digital content also handled Northside Music Ltd, Jude’s separate company. He said his attempts to get clarity from his twin brother, Paul, yielded no results.
“When I asked Paul, he said: ‘You know say I don’t know anything about it,’ and told me to go meet Jude.”
Further digging led Peter to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), where he discovered that Jude and his wife were the listed directors of Northside Music Limited–with Jude owning 20% and his wife holding 80%.
“Until then, I had no idea the company even existed,” he said. “It was when I checked Cynthia Morgan’s album metadata–she was one of Jude’s artists–that I realized where the royalties were being diverted.”
He also alleged that attempts to retrieve their music catalogue from Jude revealed that the backend data had been tampered with.
“When we tried to sell the catalogue, potential buyers said the numbers had been reduced and the value was no longer worth their offer.”
Peter also claimed that a new company, Mad Solutions, had paid him $22,000 after taking over the catalogues, but he was told that Jude and Paul had already received their own payments.
He further alleged that the group’s tax consultant told him Jude had only paid minimal taxes, based on claims that P-Square had ceased to be active since their 2017 split.
Based on these findings, Peter said he instructed his lawyer, Afolabi, to file a formal petition to the EFCC, which launched the ongoing investigation.
One of the criminal charges against Jude alleges that he used Northside Music Ltd to purchase a property in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, for ₦850 million–funds that the EFCC believes were laundered.
Another charge states that he converted $1,019,762.87 via a Bureau de Change into naira and transferred the funds to various bank accounts to obscure their origins.
Jude Okoye has pleaded not guilty to all counts. The trial was adjourned until June 4, when Peter Okoye is expected to face cross-examination.
