The simmering rift between the famous Okoye brothers, Peter and Jude of the defunct P-Square musical duo took a dramatic turn on Monday as Peter Okoye testified against his elder brother in a ₦1.3 billion fraud trial at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Jude Okoye, the former manager of the celebrated P-Square group, alongside his company, Northside Music Limited, is facing a seven-count charge of money laundering involving ₦1.38 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.
The charges were brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following a petition filed by Peter Okoye, Jude’s younger brother and one-half of the now-reunited P-Square duo.
One of the charges, before Justice Alexander Owoeye, alleges that Jude acquired property worth ₦850 million in Ikoyi, Lagos, using funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
A specific count reads: “That you, Jude Okoye Chigozie and Northside Music Limited, sometime in 2022, in Lagos, did directly acquire a landed property worth ₦850,000,000.00, which you knew or reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act.”
Another charge accuses Jude and his company of converting over $1 million through a Bureau De Change to conceal the source of the funds, a violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Jude Okoye has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
During his testimony, Peter Okoye described Jude as a controlling manager who had sole authority over P-Square’s finances.
“He was the only signatory to all our bank accounts in Ecobank,” Peter testified, adding that he often had no access to the funds he helped generate.
He recounted how tensions within the group escalated around 2017, leading to their five-year breakup. Although they reunited in 2021, Jude was no longer their manager.
Peter said that in 2022, while attempting to access data on royalties and backend earnings from their music catalogue, he discovered the existence of a separate company named Northside Music Limited run by Jude and his wife, without his or Paul’s knowledge.
“People wanted to buy our catalogue and asked for backend statements to see how much we earned monthly. But I didn’t have access. When I approached Jude, he said my share was with people in South Africa. I wasn’t asking for money; I just wanted transparency,” Peter told the court.
He added that bank officials refused to grant him access to account details, claiming they were instructed by Jude not to release any information.
The situation escalated when Peter discovered that the aggregators handling P-Square’s catalogue were also managing Jude and Paul’s solo projects.
“When they finally sent me the catalogue, the backend was tampered with and data was either missing or manipulated,” he alleged.
He revealed that a potential buyer who initially offered $8,000 for the catalogue dropped the offer to just $500 after reviewing the tampered data.
The most startling revelation came when Peter checked with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and discovered that Jude and his wife were the sole directors of Northside Music Limited, with his wife owning 80% of the shares and Jude the remaining 20%.
Peter claimed this structure excluded both him and his twin brother, Paul, from the company’s finances and operations.
He also referenced a tax consultant who alleged that Jude falsely claimed the group had not been active since their breakup in order to reduce tax liabilities.
“When I checked the 2017 bank statements, all the inflows were from aggregators proof that we were still earning,” Peter testified.
Peter concluded by saying that when he confronted Paul, his twin brother allegedly dismissed him, saying, “Peter, go and do your worst.”
“Until the court intervenes, I will never be able to access the money or even the truth behind what happened to our earnings,” he added.
Justice Owoeye has adjourned the case until June 4, 2025, for the cross-examination of Peter Okoye by the defence counsel.
