NIGERIA: Peter Okoye Testifies Against Brother In $1M and £34,537 Fraud Case

By Ameenat Hamzat, Lagos, Nigeria 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday, May 16, 2025, opened its case against Jude Chigozie Okoye, the former manager and elder brother of the popular Nigerian music duo, Paul and Peter Okoye, popularly knowb as P-Square, over an alleged fraud involving $1 million and £34,537. The case is being heard before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja.

Peter Okoye, popularly known as Mr P, appeared in court as the EFCC’s first prosecution witness (PW1). He is accusing his elder brother and Northside Music Ltd., the company Jude is linked to, of misappropriating funds and diverting royalties belonging to P-Square.

Led in evidence by EFCC counsel Mohammed Bashir, Mr P recounted how the alleged fraud came to light, stating that he had submitted a petition to the EFCC earlier in 2024.

Peter said, “I went to the EFCC with my lawyer to submit the petition on January 22, 2024, I initially wrote Northside Music as the respondent. But upon various investigations carried out by the Commission, it was discovered that Jude’s wife, Ifeoma, is the owner of the company because she owns 80 per cent shares, while Jude retains the remaining 20 per cent.”

He further testified that he had no contact with his brothers about the petition until months later.

“I submitted the petition and I never spoke to either Paul or Jude until early April in 2024 when the EFCC asked if my twin brother was involved and I said I did not know,” he said.

The witness also claimed that the Commission uncovered significant evidence during its investigation:

“The Commission discovered there were over 47 bank accounts used by Jude to receive royalties.”

According to Mr P, Jude was detained by the EFCC following his invitation, while Paul, his twin, was also questioned but not held. He also alleged that Jude did not deny the accusations.

“Jude never denied that he committed the crime. My twin brother told me during a meeting at the EFCC office that our elder brother owns P-Square. Paul told me Jude owns 40 per cent, while the two of us own 30 per cent each.”

Peter Okoye denied any knowledge of the formation of Northside Music Ltd., saying:

“Ifeoma was never part of our engagement, and I was not aware when Northside Music was registered. Northside Music, according to my findings, was registered in 2015 and had been operating illegally for two years before our break-up.”

The EFCC subsequently sought to tender the petition dated January 22, 2024, which was admitted into evidence without objection from the defence team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Clement Onwuenwunor.

Earlier in the proceedings, Mr P provided a background of the group’s business relationship:

“My brother and I started our music career in 1999,” he said, adding that between 2005 and 2006, they floated a company called Northside Entertainment Ltd., where all three brothers were directors and shareholders.

He explained that Jude was solely in control of the group’s finances:

“Jude was the sole signatory to the company’s three accounts domiciled in Eco Bank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), and Zenith Bank. They were both Naira and Dollar accounts, and Jude was the sole manager of all the accounts. In September 2017, P-Square broke up, and we came back together in November 2021. Within the period, I never received any royalties paid into our company.”

He noted that before the split, royalties were paid into Northside Entertainment Ltd., and listed two digital aggregators responsible for distributing royalties from streaming platforms:

“Before we broke up in 2017, every royalty was being paid into Northside Entertainment Ltd., where the three of us were shareholders. We have two aggregators (streaming platforms that generate income): [I-rocking.com](http://I-rocking.com) and Free Me Digital, which I was aware of. When people play our songs on their mobile phones, it generates income, and so, we receive funds from these two aggregators before our split.”

“When we got back without him being our manager, I discovered a similar company was run by our brother, known as Northside Music. I started seeing some discrepancies in the way royalties were sent to me and my twin brother.”

“When I went for a tour in London, an individual approached us to see if we would like to sell our catalogues, but they needed to see the back-end. After so many attempts to get the back-end from Jude, I discovered that he had tampered with the original one, which made over seven companies to have rethink purchasing the catalogues.”

After Peter’s account, the court adjourned the case till May 23.