Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday remanded Jude Okoye Chigozie, the elder brother and former manager of Paul and Peter Okoye, from the now-defunct music group P-Square in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services over allegations of money laundering.
Justice Owoeye ordered Okoye to be kept behind bars after he was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly laundering N1.38 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.
The defendant was docked before the court alongside his company, Northside Music Ltd, on a seven-count charge of the offence contrary to Section 18 (2)(d) and punishable under Section 18 (3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The anti-graft agency claimed that the defendant committed the offence sometime in 2022 in Lagos by directly acquiring a property located at 5 Tony Eromosele Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, valued at N850,000,000.00.
He was accused of acquiring the property through funds which he ought to have known, or reasonably ought to have known, was part of proceeds from an unlawful act.
The anti-graft agency also alleged that the defendant used a bureau de change to convert the sum of $1,019,762.87 held in Access Bank Plc under Northside Music Ltd to its naira equivalent and deposited the funds into various bank accounts with the intention of concealing that the said funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act.
Okoye pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Based on his plea, the prosecuting counsel, L. P. Aso, urged the court to fix a trial date and for the defendant to be remanded in a correctional facility pending trial.
However, the defence lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, informed the court of a pending bail application and requested a short date for its hearing; he also asked that the defendant be remanded in EFCC custody until the bail hearing.
Aso objected to the request, submitting that the EFCC detention facility was already congested with suspects awaiting arraignment.
He urged the court to instead remand the defendant in the correctional facility since he had entered his plea.
Justice Owoeye, in a short ruling, adjourned the matter to February 28 for the bail hearing and April 14, 2025, for trial.
The judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the Ikoyi facility of the Nigerian Correctional Services.
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