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By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has taken a significant step in the alleged N1.38 billion money laundering trial against Jude Chigozie Okoye, the elder brother and former manager of the defunct music duo P-Square.
On Monday, April 14, 2025, the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC presented Peter Obumuneme Okoye, one half of the P-Square duo, as its first prosecution witness (PW1) before Justice A. Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Jude Okoye and his company, Northside Music Limited, are facing a seven-count charge related to money laundering, with allegations amounting to N1.38bn.
One of the charges specifies the acquisition of a property worth N850m in Ikoyi, Lagos, in 2022, allegedly with funds derived from unlawful activities, contravening the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. Jude Okoye had previously pleaded “not guilty” to all charges during his arraignment on February 26, 2025.
At the court proceedings, Peter identified the defendant as his elder brother and the former manager of the iconic music group P-Square.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Aso Larry’s Peters. Peter recounted the formation and eventual split of the group.
“The group, P-Square, started sometime in 1997. But in 2017, it was disbanded. We stayed apart for about five years. But in November 2021, the group came back, ” he said.
He further detailed the management history of P-Square, stating, “Before Jude became our Manager, we had several managers, including Chioma Ugochi, who managed us when we were in the secondary school and in the University; and the late Bayo Odusami of Mbuntu music, who managed us for five years.
“Thereafter, my twin brother and I managed the band for a couple of months before we decided that he (Jude) would manage us and Northside Entertainment Limited.”
Peter then described the growing financial disputes within the group’s operations under Jude’s management.
“So, we continued running our business. But we were always having issues about how he was running the business. The issues were mainly about the fact that he was the sole signatory to all our bank accounts in Ecobank, Zenith and FCMB. These issues lasted for a couple of months. I didn’t have access to the accounts until the current Minister of Aviation, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, who was our lawyer, said we needed a sharing formula, ” he added.
Recounting a specific financial disagreement during the construction of their houses in Ikoyi, Peter testified, “The funding of the house project was by Northwest Entertainment Ltd. But they just stopped financing my house for six months. The accounts were owned by the company, while Jude was the only signatory to all the accounts. At some point, I approached him and my twin brother, Paul, to know why they stopped financing my project. But what I heard from them was ‘As you leave P-square, u leave the money’.” He added,
Explaining further, “With that comment, I had to approach our lawyer, Keyamo. All our money is in Northside Entertainment, and he is the sole signatory.”
Peter also revealed his discovery of a company with a similar name. “Along the line, I discovered that there’s a company similar to ours, Northside Music Limited. In 2022, I discovered this when some people wanted to acquire our albums. These individuals demanded our statements of account to know how much the albums were generating monthly. The reason is that I didn’t have access to ‘backend’, which could be traced through a Northside account and through the aggregators (these are people you engage to know when they play your music on any medium, so you get paid). I then demanded that I wanted to know the backend. But he refused.”
The prosecution’s presentation of Peter Okoye as the first witness marks a crucial stage in the trial, offering a firsthand account of the financial dealings and alleged irregularities that form the basis of the money laundering charges against Jude Okoye. The trial is set to continue with further witnesses and evidence to be presented by the EFCC.