Jude Okoye, Former P-Square Manager, Arraigned Over Alleged ₦1.3 Billion Fraud
Jude Okoye, the elder brother and former manager of music duo P-Square, has been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on charges of money laundering involving ₦1.38 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.
Okoye, along with his company, Northside Music Ltd, was brought before Justice Alexander Owoeye.
One of the charges stated:
“That you, Jude Okoye Chigozie, and Northside Music Ltd, sometime in 2022 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did directly acquire a landed property known as No. 5, Tony Eromosele Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, worth ₦850,000,000.00 (Eight hundred and fifty million naira), which you knew or ought to have known was obtained from the proceeds of unlawful activity, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 18 (2)(d) and punishable under Section 18 (3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Another charge accused Okoye of using a bureau de change to convert $1,019,762.87 from his Northside Music Ltd account at Access Bank into naira, transferring the funds into multiple accounts to conceal their source.
Okoye pleaded “not guilty” to all charges. Following this, the EFCC’s counsel, Larry Peters Aso, requested a trial date and urged the court to remand Okoye in a correctional facility until his trial.
His defense lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, presented a bail application and requested a short hearing date. He also appealed for Okoye to be kept in EFCC custody rather than a correctional facility.
However, Aso objected, arguing that EFCC’s detention center was overcrowded. He insisted that Okoye be held in a correctional facility since he had already been arraigned.
Justice Owoeye scheduled the bail hearing for February 28 and set April 14 for the commencement of the trial. He also ordered that Okoye be remanded in Ikoyi Correctional Facility.
