The longstanding tension among the Okoye brothers — Peter, Paul, and Jude — has erupted into a legal storm, with Peter Okoye testifying against his elder brother and former manager, Jude Okoye, at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.
According to a statement from the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, Jude Okoye and his company, Northside Music Limited, are facing a seven-count charge for alleged money laundering and fraud.
Among the allegations is the acquisition of a luxury property in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, worth ₦850 million, which is suspected to have been funded with proceeds from unlawful activity. Jude has pleaded not guilty.
Led by the EFCC’s counsel, Aso Larry Peters, Peter laid bare the behind-the-scenes drama in the once-celebrated music group. He revealed that:
- The group P-Square, formed in 1997, broke up in 2017 but reunited in 2021.
- Prior to Jude’s management, they had other managers, including Chioma Ugochi and the late Bayo Odusami.
- Jude, once entrusted as manager, became the sole signatory to all P-Square-related bank accounts at Ecobank, Zenith Bank, and FCMB.
“As You Leave P-Square, You Leave the Money”
Peter disclosed that the friction intensified when funding for his personal house project — handled by the group’s business entity Northwest Entertainment Ltd — was abruptly halted. Attempts to get clarity were met with the dismissive statement: “As you leave P-Square, you leave the money.”
The dispute led him to seek help from their then-lawyer, Festus Keyamo (now the Minister of Aviation), who proposed a sharing formula to resolve the financial confusion.
Things got murkier in 2022 when Peter discovered another company — Northside Music Limited, bearing a suspicious resemblance to their original Northside Entertainment Ltd. Upon digging:
- He found that Jude and his wife were the sole directors, with Jude’s wife holding 80% ownership.
- When Peter demanded backend reports and financial statements to assess earnings from P-Square’s music catalog, Jude allegedly refused.
- Aggregator reports (tools that track royalties and plays from music platforms) were either denied or tampered with, leaving Peter with incomplete and inaccurate financial data.
Despite eventual efforts to retrieve the catalogue, Peter claims it was “messed with,” and offers to buy the catalogue plummeted — from $8,000 to less than $500.
Bank Blockade
Further frustrations came when Peter approached bank officials directly:
- A Zenith Bank officer allegedly told Peter that Jude instructed them not to release the account statements to him — and that only a court order would suffice.
Eventually, Peter managed to recover and monetize part of the catalogue through Mad Solution, earning about $22,000 — a moment he described as revealing and validating his suspicions.
Paul’s Position?
Throughout the testimony, Peter hinted at Paul Okoye’s silence or indirect support of Jude, quoting responses like “I don’t know anything about it — ask Jude” and later “Do your worst.”
This case, aside from showing a heartbreaking breakdown in one of Africa’s most beloved music families, is a tangled web of alleged financial mismanagement, abuse of trust, and corporate identity confusion.
