Singer and one half of the defunct music group P-Square, Peter Okoye, has testified against his brother and former manager, Jude Okoye, in a trial that began on Monday at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The case involves alleged money laundering of N1.38 billion, $1 million and £34,537.59.
Jude is standing trial alongside his company, Northside Music Limited, on a seven-count charge bordering on money laundering.
The charges were brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following a petition filed by Peter.
Led in evidence by EFCC counsel Aso Larry, Peter told the court how Jude allegedly used another company, Northside Music Ltd, to divert funds generated from P-Square’s royalties without his or his twin brother Paul’s consent.
“Sometimes in 2017, the group P-Square was disbanded. We were apart for nearly five years. In November 2021, the group came back,” Peter began.
He explained that Jude began managing the group after they had previously been under the guidance of other individuals, including Chioma Ugochi during their university years and the late Bayo Odusami of Mbuntu Music.
Peter said issues began to arise when Jude became the sole signatory to all their bank accounts across Ecobank, Zenith and FCMB.
“There was a scenario when we were building our houses in Ikoyi. The project was being financed by Northside Entertainment Ltd, but they suddenly stopped financing my house for six months,” he said.
Peter said when he confronted Jude and Paul about it, they told him, “As you leave P-Square, you leave the money.”
He added that their then-lawyer, now Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo (SAN), had advised that a clear revenue-sharing formula be put in place, but that never materialised.
Peter told the court that in 2022, while trying to sell the group’s album catalog, he discovered a company named Northside Music Ltd, separate from the known Northside Entertainment.
This company, he later found on the CAC website, was owned by Jude and his wife—with the wife holding 80% shares and Jude 20%.
“When I asked Jude for the backend data from aggregators who collect streaming revenue, he refused. Paul also said he knew nothing about it,” Peter said.
He alleged that when he eventually got access to the catalog, the figures were manipulated. “The people who initially wanted to pay $8,000 for the albums later offered $500, saying the backend had been tampered with,” he said.
He also narrated how he contacted account officers at Zenith and Ecobank, only to be told they could not release any statements unless ordered by the court. One of them allegedly confessed that Jude instructed them not to send anything to Peter.
Peter further alleged that the same aggregators handling their group’s royalties were working for Jude and Paul individually. He said when he tried to retrieve financial details, he was met with hostility.
“Paul once told me, ‘Peter, go and do your worst,’” he claimed.
He also revealed that a tax consultant named Emmanuel visited him and said Jude had declared that since the group’s breakup, there had been no performances.
However, Peter said bank statements showed that aggregators continued to pay money into their Access Bank account.
The EFCC, in its charges, accused Jude of acquiring a property worth N850 million in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, using funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
Another charge alleged that Jude converted over $1 million through a Bureau De Change to naira and moved the money across various bank accounts to conceal its origin.
Jude, however, pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Justice Owoeye adjourned the case to June 4 for cross-examination.
