Family, Fraud and Feuds: Peter of P-Square Accuses Brother, Jude of Diverting ₦1.6 Billion

Things haven’t always been rosy in the Okoye family, but it seems there are still many stones left unturned in this iconic musical dynasty.

Peter Okoye, popularly known as Mr. P and one-half of the legendary music duo P-Square, has testified against his older brother and former manager, Jude Okoye. Peter accused Jude of registering a new company under his wife’s name and using it to divert royalties belonging to P-Square. The case has been reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and Jude is now facing a seven-count charge of financial misconduct and money laundering involving over ₦1.6 billion.

Jude has pleaded not guilty, but the matter is now before the high court, with EFCC prosecutor Aso Larry leading the case. In his testimony, Peter claimed that Jude secretly incorporated a company called Northside Music Ltd to control P-Square’s royalties without the consent of the group’s members.

“Sometime in 2017, the group P-Square disbanded, and we were apart until November 2021,” Peter testified. “During this time, I realised I had no access to the group’s bank accounts held with Ecobank, Zenith Bank, and FCMB — all controlled solely by Jude.”

“I later found out Jude had incorporated another company, Northside Music Ltd—very similar to our original Northside Entertainment Ltd—and he was using it to collect our royalties. He and his wife are the only directors. She owns 80%, and he owns 20%.”

Peter further stated,

“He was the sole signatory to our accounts. I couldn’t even buy a phone without Jude’s permission.”

According to Peter, when he tried to access backend reports and catalogues for P-Square’s music, Jude refused to share them. Even Paul, his twin brother and the other half of P-Square, reportedly claimed he didn’t know how the finances were being managed.

“Whenever these issues came up, I wouldn’t have access to funds for months. It wasn’t until our lawyer at the time, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), now the Minister of Aviation, insisted on a revenue-sharing formula that things began to change.”

Peter also described how funding for his personal house project in Ikoyi was suddenly halted. It was during his investigation into the reason behind the cutoff that he discovered the existence of the new company, Northside Music Ltd.

“There was a time we were building our houses in Ikoyi. The financing was through Northside Entertainment Ltd, but suddenly, they stopped funding my project for six months. Jude was the only one who could approve expenses. When I approached him and Paul, they told me, ‘You left P-Square, so you left the money.’”

Peter told the court that after the group reunited in November 2021, Jude was no longer their manager. That’s when he discovered the existence of Northside Music Ltd, a near replica of their original company.

“In late 2022, someone was interested in acquiring our albums and asked for our financial statements. That’s when I realised I had no access to the ‘backend’, where digital revenue data from platforms like YouTube and iTunes can be traced.”

He said further revelations came while trying to sell P-Square’s music catalog. Buyers had requested backend data and financial statements, but Jude refused to provide them. When Peter approached Paul, his brother reportedly responded,

“You know I don’t know anything about that, but Jude…”

Peter said Jude eventually told him that his share of the money was with some people in South Africa. But Peter insisted he wasn’t asking for money, just the backend and account details. When he finally received the catalog, he claimed it had already been tampered with and its value had dropped from $8,000 to $500. He also found that the same digital aggregators managing P-Square’s catalog were working on solo projects for Jude and Paul.

“When I started asking questions, they allowed me to hand the catalog over to Mad Solutions. Three months after signing with them, I received over $22,000. When I asked if Jude and Paul had received their shares, I was told they had already been paid.”

Peter added that he had never heard of Northside Music Ltd until his investigation. On checking the Corporate Affairs Commission website, he discovered Jude and his wife were the only directors, with her owning 80% of the shares.

“When I confronted Jude about the backend again, he claimed it would take three and a half months to retrieve the catalog. When we eventually received it, there were no figures—just numbers. The aggregators said the backend had been tampered with, which affected its value. Offers dropped from $8,000 to just $500.”

Peter also revealed that a man handling their tax affairs once visited him and claimed Jude should only be paying around ₦2 million.

“He also said Jude had reported that we hadn’t performed since the group’s split. But when I checked Access Bank statements from January to December 2017, I saw transactions from aggregators coming in throughout.”

Following further investigations, Peter discovered that funds were still flowing into the group’s accounts even after their 2017 split raising even more questions.

The Okoye family has faced public tension over the years, especially following the P-Square breakup and the brothers’ pursuit of solo careers. Once seen as a tightly-knit family unit, this latest revelation has thrown the spotlight back on a brewing scandal with Jude now facing potential prosecution and even jail time.

For now, the drama is still unfolding. The case has been adjourned to June 4, 2025, where Jude Okoye will face cross-examination.