The high-profile financial dispute between members of the
defunct music group Psquare took a dramatic turn on Friday at the Lagos state
special offences court in Ikeja.
Addressing Rahman Oshodi, the judge, at the resumed
cross-examination, Mohammed Bashir, the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) counsel, said the agency had no evidence to support Peter ‘Mr
P’ Okoye’s allegation that Jude and Paul ‘Rudeboy‘ Okoye, his brothers,
fraudulently withdrew $800,000 from Psquare’s bank account.
The case stems from a 2024 petition by Peter, who accused
Jude, Psquare’s former manager, of financial misconduct concerning the brand.
In the petition, Peter alleged that Jude diverted group
funds, operated 47 undeclared bank accounts, and manipulated the shareholding
structure of their jointly owned company Northside Entertainment Ltd.
The allegations led the EFCC to file charges against Jude.
“We do not have it. It is his evidence. Let him prove it. I
can’t give what I don’t have,” Bashir stated on Friday, effectively distancing
the prosecution from Peter’s $800,000 claim.
Jude is standing trial alongside his company Northside Music
Ltd for allegedly laundering N1.38 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.
The EFCC had claimed that Jude converted payments from Lex
Records Limited intended for digital music distribution, depriving Peter of his
share.
The trial has seen Peter take the stand as a witness. On May
23, 2025, he testified that new evidence revealed that Jude and Paul had
withdrawn and shared over $800,000 between March 2023 and October 2024.
Under cross-examination by Clement Onwuenwunor, Jude’s
counsel, Peter revised the timeline, stating the withdrawals occurred between
2013 and 2014.
Oshodi adjourned the case to December 12, 2025, for the
continuation of the trial.
The Okoye brothers first parted ways in 2017 after a
disagreement on the role of Jude. In November 2021, they ended their five-year
feud and held their first headline concert in December.
Paul, however, confirmed that Psquare no longer exists in
August 2024. He claimed his twin brother was behind his arrest by the EFCC.
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