Newsie Events:
Popular Nigerian musician Peter Okoye, one-half of the iconic duo P-Square, appeared before the Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday, April 14, where he testified against his older brother and former manager, Jude Okoye, over alleged mismanagement and diversion of the group’s royalties.
In his testimony, Peter revealed that Jude secretly registered a new company, Northside Music Ltd, in his wife’s name—holding 80% ownership—while Jude kept the remaining 20%.
According to Peter, this company bore a name very similar to their original label, Northside Entertainment Ltd, and was used without his or his twin brother Paul’s knowledge to collect royalties meant for the now-defunct group.
Jude Okoye and Northside Music Ltd are currently facing a seven-count charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), including allegations of laundering N1.38 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.
One charge specifies the acquisition of a property in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, worth N850 million, allegedly bought with proceeds from illicit activities.
Jude has pleaded not guilty to all charges since his arraignment on February 26, 2025.
Peter, the EFCC’s first witness, detailed how financial irregularities began surfacing after P-Square’s 2017 breakup, and even after their 2021 reunion.
He claimed Jude was the sole signatory to their bank accounts and controlled all group finances—so much so that Peter said he couldn’t even purchase a phone without Jude’s approval.
In 2022, when a buyer showed interest in acquiring their albums, Peter discovered he had no access to the backend of their digital revenue streams, such as YouTube and iTunes.
Jude allegedly refused to provide the necessary data. When Peter approached Paul for help, Paul reportedly deflected, saying, “You know I don’t know anything about that, but Jude…”
Peter also shared that when he confronted Jude, he was told the money was with people in South Africa.
However, Peter emphasized he wasn’t even asking for money—only for transparency and access to the backend and account statements. Despite repeated attempts, he said Jude never gave a clear response.
He further recalled how their group originally had various managers before they invited Jude to take over. “We managed ourselves for a while, then brought Jude in,” Peter said. He added that funding for a joint house project in Ikoyi was suddenly cut off after he left P-Square in 2017.
When he inquired, he was allegedly told, “As you leave P-Square, you leave the money.”
Peter sought legal advice from their former lawyer, now Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo (SAN), who advised setting up a formal revenue-sharing structure. Yet, Peter claimed Jude maintained full financial control.
He also contacted their Zenith Bank account officer, who informed him that Jude had instructed the bank not to share any financial details with Peter and advised him to go through the courts.
As he dug deeper, Peter discovered that the same digital aggregators handling P-Square’s content were also managing Jude and Paul’s individual projects.
After taking control of his catalogue and signing with a new company, Mad Solutions, Peter said he earned over $22,000 within three months. However, he was told Jude and Paul had already received their own payments.
Further investigations led Peter to discover the mysterious Northside Music Ltd via a Corporate Affairs Commission search, listing Jude and his wife as the only directors. When Peter eventually received the group’s music catalogue, it was missing vital data.
Aggregators later informed him the backend had likely been tampered with, drastically lowering its value—from offers of $8,000 to just $500.
Peter also described inconsistencies in their tax records.
A tax official allegedly told him that Jude’s estimated tax liability was just N2 million, assuming the group hadn’t performed since their split.
But Peter found Access Bank statements showing steady payments from music aggregators throughout 2017.
Following these revelations, Peter contacted his lawyer, who submitted a formal petition to the EFCC.
The case has been adjourned to June 4, 2025, for cross-examination.
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