P-Square Rift: Jude Okoye Freed After Two Months Detention
Jude Okoye, elder brother and former manager of the iconic P-Square duo, has been released after two months’ detention for an alleged N1.38bn fraud.
Jude, also known as Jude Engees, was granted bail earlier but faced delays in perfecting his bail.
On Wednesday, his younger brother, Paul Okoye, popularly known as Rudeboy, announced his release via an Instagram post and shared a video of Jude’s reunion with his family.
“Jude is finally out after two months + …all their efforts to frustrate his bail have finally collapsed. Welcome home, brother @judeengees. And happy birthday,” Paul wrote.
The announcement comes amid a feud within the Okoye family.
Jude, who once managed the internationally celebrated music duo, is embroiled in dual criminal trials.
The cases stem from allegations of financial impropriety levelled by his younger brother Peter Okoye (Mr P), who testified against him on April 14 in a Federal High Court in Lagos.
According to the prosecution, Jude used a company he allegedly incorporated without his brothers’ knowledge, ‘Northside Music Limited’, to siphon off royalties and control the group’s revenues.
Testifying before Justice Alexander Owoeye, Peter revealed that between 2017 and 2021, a period when the group was disbanded, he had no access to the band’s multiple bank accounts, which were controlled solely by Jude.
He further alleged that Jude and his wife diverted music royalties and withheld key financial records.
The singer said a particularly hurtful moment came when he was denied access to group funds during a house project in Ikoyi.
“When I asked why financing had stopped, I was told, ‘As you leave P-Square, you leave the money,’” Peter recalled.
However, the EFCC brought a seven-count charge against Jude and Northside Music Limited. This includes laundering a total of N1.38bn, over $1m, and £34,537.59.
The commission alleged that the funds were used to purchase a property worth N850m at Parkview Estate in Ikoyi and were funnelled through a Bureau De Change.
Jude pleaded not guilty and was initially remanded in Ikoyi Correctional Centre.
He was granted bail on March 6, set at N50m with two sureties, and was instructed to surrender both his Nigerian and St. Kitts & Nevis passports.
Also, in a second concurrent case at the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, he was accused of converting over $1m and £34,537.59 in digital royalties for personal use between 2016 and 2023.
The case, presided over by Justice Rahman Oshodi, is scheduled to continue on May 16 and 23.
The fallout from the P-Square disbandment in 2017 has long been a source of speculation until August 2024, when Peter formalised his grievances.
Despite a musical reunion in 2021, the reconciliation collapsed shortly after.
Jude’s defence team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Clement Onwuenwunor, downplayed the EFCC case as a family dispute exaggerated into criminal litigation.
“This is more of a misunderstanding between directors than a criminal case,” Onwuenwunor stated in court, and stressed Jude’s full cooperation with investigators.
Meanwhile, Mr P will be cross-examined when the case resumes on June 4.
P-Square Rift: Jude Okoye Freed After Two Months Detention is first published on The Whistler Newspaper