Peter Okoye testifies against brother in family feud

Peter Okoye  on Monday testified against his brother, Jude Okoye, in a N1.38bn money laundering trial before a Federal High Court in Lagos.

Jude, elder brother and former manager of the P-Square music group, faces a seven-count charge before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos. He pleaded not guilty when arraigned on February 26.

One of the charges alleges that Jude and his company acquired property worth N850 million in 2022, suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Aso Larry Peters, Peter described Jude as P-Square’s former manager and detailed long-standing disputes over financial transparency and account access.

Peter explained that Jude became their manager after several others and handled Northside Entertainment Limited. He said issues began when Jude became the sole signatory to the group’s bank accounts with Ecobank, Zenith, and FCMB, denying him access.

He recounted how funding for his Ikoyi house stopped without notice, and when he questioned it, he was told: “As you leave P-Square, you leave the money.”

READ ALSO: Court remands Jude Okoye for theft

He added that all their earnings were under Northside Entertainment, managed by Jude, and that he only discovered the existence of a similarly named company, Northside Music Limited, in 2022 during an attempt to verify music revenue.

Peter said he approached Jude and Paul, his twin, for details on the “backend” income from their music catalogue, but got no cooperation. He alleged that the backend data was tampered with, significantly lowering the value of their catalogue.

Checks on the Corporate Affairs Commission website, he said, showed Jude’s wife owns 80% of Northside Music Limited, with Jude holding 20%.

He also claimed that statements from aggregators and Access Bank revealed income activities that contradicted Jude’s claims of no performances since the group split.

The matter was subsequently handed to his lawyer, who involved the EFCC.

Presiding judge, Justice Owoeye, adjourned the case until June 4, 2025, for cross-examination.

Reported by The Conclave