Peter Okoye, of the popular hip-hop group P-Square, narrated to Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Lagos how his brother Jude Okoye allegedly defrauded the group of N1.3 billion.
Peter Okoye specifically told the trial judge that Jude, the former manager of the Psquare group, incorporated another company without his knowledge to collect royalties on behalf of the group.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned the defendant alongside his company, Northside Music Ltd, on a seven-count charge of money laundering 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 valued at N850,000,000.00 at 5 Tony Eromosele Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.
He was accused of acquiring the property through funds that he ought to have known, or reasonably ought to have known, were part of the proceeds from an unlawful act.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
While being led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Aso Larry, Peter claimed that the Psquare group disbanded after nearly five years sometime in 2017 but reunited in November 2021.
He testified, “We were together from 1997-98. Before Jude became our manager, several others, including Chioma Ugochi, managed us during our secondary and university studies. The late Bayo Odusami of Mbuntu Music also managed us for five years. After my twin brother and I worked together for a few months, we decided that Jude would manage us along with Northside Entertainment Ltd.
“As we ran our business, issues began regarding how Jude managed it. One major problem was that he was the sole signatory to all our Ecobank, Zenith, and FCMB bank accounts.
“There were times when I had no access to money due to these issues. Only when Mr Festus Keyamo (SAN), now the Minister of Aviation and our lawyer at the time, suggested we establish a sharing formula things began to change.
“I recall a situation while we were building our houses in Ikoyi. Only Jude could sign for the release of funds. The financing for my house project came from Northwest Entertainment Ltd, but they stopped financing it six months ago.
“When I asked Jude and my twin brother, Paul, why funding had ceased, they responded, ‘As you leave Psquare, you leave the money.’ This prompted me to consult our lawyer, Keyamo, who advised that I would need to ask Jude if I wanted to buy a phone because all our money was in Northside Entertainment, where he was the sole signatory.
“After the group disbanded in 2017, we reunited on November 17, 2021, but this time, Jude was no longer managing us. I discovered a company similar to ours, Northside Music Limited. At the end of 2022, I learned that some people were interested in acquiring our albums and requested our statement of account to see how much the albums generated monthly.
“I had no access to the ‘backend’ information, which could be traced through the Northside account and the aggregators distributing our music on platforms like YouTube and iTunes. When I asked Jude for access to the backend, he refused. I approached Paul, who replied, ‘I don’t know anything about it, but Jude does.’ Paul said he’d reach out to Jude, but I stepped away.
“After a few weeks, I asked Paul if he had contacted Jude, and Paul said he didn’t have the time. When I contacted Jude again, he claimed his share of the money was with some people in South Africa. I clarified that I wasn’t asking for money, just the backend information and the statement of accounts, but I received no positive response.
“Based on Jude’s response, I suspected something was wrong. I then contacted the account officers at both Ecobank and Zenith Bank. When I couldn’t get satisfactory responses, the account officer at Zenith Bank eventually told me that Jude had instructed him not to provide the information, adding that I would need to seek it through the court.
“I later discovered that the aggregators handling Psquare’s music also managed Paul and Jude’s music. I suggested to Paul that we give the Psquare albums to these aggregators, but both Jude and Paul were uncomfortable with that.
“After I began feeling suspicious, Jude and Paul eventually allowed the catalogue to be given to Mad Solution, who stated they would start making payments three months after signing. Three months later, I received over $22000. When I inquired if that money was for them, I was told that Jude and Paul had already been paid.
“I did not know about a company called Northside Music until then. I decided not to approach Jude directly, but when I asked Paul if he knew about Northside Music, he suggested I check Cynthia Morgan’s album, which was under Jude’s management then. Upon checking, I found it was indeed associated with Northside Music,” the witness stated.
Peter Okoye stated that when they received the information, it showed no figures, only numbers. They responded that the backend had been tampered with, meaning that those who offered USD 8,000 could no longer offer $500 since the numbers had been reduced.
He also informed the court that he visited the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) website, where he discovered that the directors of Northside Music were Jude Okoye and his wife. He found that Jude’s wife owned 80% of the company, while Jude owned 20%.
He told the court that he could not access anything due to the tampering regarding the backend issue. He mentioned that one of the interested buyers invited Paul to his house, but Paul responded, “I know Peter has told you this… When he returned after an hour, he said he was tired of all this and told Peter to ‘go and do your worst.’”
He further explained to the court that the tax officer, Emmanuel, contacted and visited his house, stating that Jude was liable to pay only about N2 million. “Emmanuel also mentioned that Jude proved that they had not been performing since their breakup. However, upon reviewing the account statements from January 1 to December 2017, he discovered that aggregators made all the payments into the Access Bank account.
Based on his findings, he contacted his lawyer, Afolabi, who then filed a petition with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against his brother. The court has adjourned the matter to June 4 for cross-examination.
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