Alleged $1million Theft: Witness Tells Court How P-Square Ex-Manager’s Wife Owns 800,000 Shares In Company

The trial of Jude Chigozie Okoye, elder brother and former manager of music duo Paul and Peter Okoye of P-Square, resumed on Friday before Justice Rahman Oshodi at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, with new revelations emerging over company ownership and alleged diversion of funds.

Okoye and his company, Northside Music Limited, are facing a four-count charge filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged theft exceeding $1million. 

He has pleaded not guilty.

During Friday’s proceedings, the first prosecution witness (PW1), Peter Obumuneme Okoye, told the court that the defendant’s wife owns 800,000 shares in Northside Music Limited.

When confronted by defence counsel, Clement Onwuenwunor (SAN), with bank statements linked to Northside Music Limited, the witness maintained that the documents reflected joint business accounts.

“These statements of account belong to me and my brother. We are P-Square. The company belongs to Peter and Paul. It was registered by him,” he said.

“I reported to the EFCC when I discovered funds were being diverted, and EFCC brought the matter to court.”

He further testified that he detected another entity, Northside Entertainment Company, allegedly diverting funds belonging to their entertainment business. 

“My lord, we own an entertainment company together, and I discovered another company diverting our funds. I showed it to my brother,” he added.

The witness also confirmed that he petitioned the EFCC through his lawyer and that the defendant’s wife holds 800,000 shares in the company at the centre of the case.

The defence sought to tender documents said to have been attached to the original petition submitted to the EFCC. 

But prosecution counsel, M. K. Bashir, objected, arguing that the documents were public records that did not meet legal requirements for admissibility.

“The defence merely produced copies stamped as Certified True Copies (CTC). They were not attached to the petition, and they were not in proper legal form,” Bashir argued, urging the court to reject them.

In a brief ruling, Justice Oshodi upheld the objection, stating that although the documents originated from the Corporate Affairs Commission and were later kept in EFCC custody, they failed to satisfy admissibility conditions.

“I reject the documents and mark them as rejected,” the judge ruled.

The witness also confirmed that he wrote a statement at the EFCC after his lawyer submitted the petition.

The case was adjourned to February 20 and 27, 2026, for continuation of the trial.

The case stems from a long-running internal dispute involving the Okoye brothers, whose music group P-Square dominated the African entertainment scene for over a decade. 

Their business operations were largely managed by Jude Okoye, who also owned and oversaw Northside Music Limited, a label that previously handled artists including Cynthia Morgan.

Following P-Square’s split in 2017 and subsequent reconciliation efforts, disagreements reportedly persisted over shared business assets, revenue distribution, and corporate ownership structures.

Peter Okoye (PW1) has accused Jude of using affiliated companies to divert funds belonging to P-Square’s joint ventures, claims that eventually led to the petition submitted to the EFCC.

The EFCC launched its investigation after reviewing financial records and corporate registration documents, culminating in the charges now before the Lagos High Court. 

The proceedings continue to attract significant public interest due to the prominence of the Okoye family in Nigeria’s entertainment industry.