In the ongoing trial over alleged money laundering involving over ₦1.3 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59, Peter Okoye, one half of the well-known Nigerian music duo P-Square, has testified against Jude Okoye, his older brother and former manager, on Monday, setting up a dramatic family feud in the courtroom.
Serious accusations of financial malfeasance against Jude Okoye and his company, Northside Music Limited, are at the heart of the trial, which started before Justice Alexander Owoeye at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
After his younger brother, Peter Okoye, petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the EFCC issued a seven-count indictment against him.
In his testimony, EFCC counsel Larry Peter Aso provided evidence of how he became suspicious of his brother’s mismanagement and diversion of money owed 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 Okoye
Peter explained that this arrangement led to frequent disputes and left him unable to access funds.“It was so bad that I had to go through our lawyer, Festus Keyamo, to create a sharing formula,” he said.
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.”
Peter Okoye
Peter Okoye on Jude’s Alleged Fraudulent Schemes
When Peter learnt about Northside Music Limited, a business purportedly founded by Jude without the other group members’ knowledge, things took a more sinister turn.
He claimed that it looked to be collecting royalties from P-Square and mirrored their legitimate business, Northside Entertainment Ltd.
“By 2022, when people wanted to acquire our albums, I requested a statement of account, 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 Okoye
Peter Okoye stated in his testimony that he was shocked to learn that Jude’s independent business, Northside Music Ltd., was also managed by the same aggregators that handled P-Square’s digital content.
He claimed that his attempts to get clarification from Paul, his twin brother, were unsuccessful. “When I asked Paul, he said: ‘You know say I don’t know anything about it,’ and told me to go meet Jude,” he stated.
After more research, Peter went to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and found that Jude and his wife were listed directors of Northside Music Limited. Jude owned 20% of the company, while his wife owned 80%.
“Until then, I had no idea the company even existed. 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.”
Peter Okoye
He also alleged that attempts to retrieve their music catalogue from Jude revealed that the backend data had been tampered with.
Peter Okoye 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 payments.
Peter Okoye on Jude’s Alleged Tax Fraud
Based on allegations that P-Square had suspended operations after their 2017 breakup, he also claimed that the group’s tax consultant informed him Jude had only paid little taxes.
Peter Okoye claimed that in light of these conclusions, he gave his attorney, Afolabi, instructions to formally petition the EFCC, which started the current investigation.
According to one of Jude’s criminal allegations, Jude paid ₦850 million for a property in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, through Northside Music Ltd., money that the EFCC suspects was laundered.
According to another accusation, he used a Bureau de Change to convert $1,019,762.87 into naira and then moved the money to different bank accounts to hide its source.
Jude Okoye has entered a not-guilty plea to every charge. The trial was postponed until June 4, when cross-examination of Peter Okoye is anticipated.
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