Crime
Peter Okoye: EFCC Presents First Witness Against Ex-P-Square Manager Over Alleged N1.38bn Fraud
Peter Okoye: EFCC Presents First Witness Against Ex-P-Square Manager Over Alleged N1.38bn Fraud
Peter Okoye: EFCC presents first witness against ex-P-Square manager over alleged N1.38bn fraud. The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday, April 14, 2025, presented its first prosecution witness, PW1, Peter Obumuneme Okoye, against Jude Chigozie Okoye, elder brother and former Manager of Paul and Peter Okoye, before Justice A. Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Okoye is standing trial alongside his company, Northside Music Limited, on a seven- count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N1.38bn.
One of the counts reads: “That you, Jude Okoye Chigozie and Northside Music Limited, 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 only), which money you knew or reasonably ought to have known form part of proceeds of unlawful act and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (2) (d) and punishable under Section 18 (3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges when they were read to him, upon his arraignment on February 26, 2025. At today’s proceedings, Jude described the defendant as his elder brother and former Manager of the group called P-square.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Aso Larry’s Peters, Peter said: “The group, P-Square started sometime in 1997. But in 2017, it was disbanded. We stayed apart for about five years. But in November 2021, the group came back.
“Before Jude became our Manager, we had several managers, including Chioma Ugochi, who managed us when we were in the secondary school and in the University; and the late Bayo Odusami of Mbuntu music, who managed us for five years.
“Thereafter, my twin brother and I managed the band for a couple of months before we decided that he (Jude) would manage us and Northside Entertainment Limited.
“So, we continued running our business. But we were always having issues about how he was running the business. The issues were mainly about the fact that he was the sole signatory to all our bank accounts in Ecobank, Zenith and FCMB.
“These issues lasted for a couple of months. I didn’t have access to the accounts until the current Minister of Aviation, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, who was our lawyer, said we needed a sharing formula.”
While giving further evidence, he recalled an incident when the brothers were building their houses in Ikoyi, saying, “The funding of the house project was by Northwest Entertainment Ltd. But they just stopped financing my house for six months.
“The accounts were owned by the company, while Jude was the only signatory to all the accounts. At some, I approached him and my twin brother, Paul, to know why they stopped financing my project. But what I heard from them was “As you leave P-square, u leave the money’.
“With that comment, I had to approach our lawyer, Keyamo. “All our money is in Northside Entertainment, and he is the sole signatory.
“Along the line, I discovered that there’s a company similar to ours, Northside Music Limited.
“In 2022, I discovered this when some people wanted to acquire our albums. These individuals demanded our statements of account to know how much the albums were generating monthly.
The reason is that I didn’t have access to ‘backend’, which could be traced through a Northside account and through the aggregators (these are people you engage to know when they play your music on any medium, so you get paid). I then demanded that I wanted to know the backend. But he refused.
“Then, I went to my twin brother, Paul, who replied thus: “You know, I don’t know anything about it, but Jude.”
“When I suggested we go to see him, he said he would go and meet him, so I left him.”
He further told the court that when he approached Paul a few weeks after about it, Paul told him he had discussed the issue with Jude.
Giving further testimony, he told the court that : “ Thereafter, I approached Jude again. He told me that my share of the money was with some people in South Africa. I told him I was not asking for money , but the backend and the statements of the account. But there was no positive response.”
Following this discussion, he said he then reached out to the accounts officers in both Eco Bank and Zenith Bank, respectively . But he said he did not get satisfactory response from them.
According to him , “The account officer at the Zenith Bank later told me that Jude told him not to send it to me. The officer added that the only way I could get it was through the court.
“ I, however, discovered that the aggregators handling P-square’s Music Company were the same persons handling Paul and Peter. So, I approached Paul and told him to give them the albums of P-Square. But Jude and Paul were not comfortable with that.”
Also, Peter told the court that both Jude and Paul subsequently allowed him to give the catalogue to Mad Solution and he was assured that he would start receiving money after three months.
He said: “ Three months after, I received over $22,000 USD. I was also told that both Jude and Paul had been paid.
“ Until I called, I did not have an idea of a company called Northside music. I decided not to meet Jude over it. But when I approached Paul if he knew about Northside Music, he said I should check the album by Cynthia Morgan, who was then Jude’s artiste.
“When I checked Cynthia Morgan’s album, it was Northside Incorporation and not Northside Music. I then approached Jude for the same backend. He told me that it was going to take three and half months to retrieve the catalogue.
“And then forwarded the catalogue to me. My new management now sent it to people who wanted to buy it.”
Peter Okoye
According to him, “ By the time it was sent to me, it only bore numbers and not figures.
“They responded that the backend had been tampered with, which suggested that the people who offered $8000 USD could not offer $500 USD,owing to the fact that the numbers had reduced.
“ I went to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) site, and discovered that the Directors of Northside Music were Jude Okoye and his wife. I also discovered that Jude’s wife owned 80%, while Jude owned 20%.
“On the backend, I was unable to get anything because it had been tampered with. One of those interested in buying the catalogue came to my house and invited Paul .
But his response was that “ I know Peter has told you this. …..When he came back after an hour, he told me that he was tired of all this and that I could do my worst.
“ The man handling our tax , Emmanuel, came to my house and said Jude should pay N2m or thereabouts.
“He said Jude was able to prove that since they broke up, they had not been performing. But when I checked the statements of accounts from January 1, to December 2017, I discovered that those who paid money to the Access Bank account were the aggregators.
“ I then contacted my lawyer, Afolabi l, who now took the matter to the EFCC.”
The case was adjourned till June 4, 2025 for cross-examination.
EFCC Arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for Alleged Naira Mutilation In Viral Video
EFCC arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for alleged naira mutilation in viral video. The Kano Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 arrested a Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa over alleged Naira mutilation.
Inuwa was arrested following a viral video circulated on social media platforms where she was seen conspicuously cleaning mucus from her nose using Naira notes.
EFCC
Following the release of the viral video, the Commission swung into action by tracing and subsequently arrested her to answer questions.
She is currently being held at the Commission’s detention facility while investigation is ongoing.
The suspect will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
Dele Oyewale
Head, Media & Publicity
February 3, 2026
EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects, Trucks for Suspected Illegal Mining Activities in Kwara
Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested ten individuals suspected of involvement in illegal mining activities along the Ilorin – Ogbomosho axis.
They were arrested on Sunday, February 1, 2026, following credible intelligence on unlawful mineral excavation and transportation in parts of Kwara and Oyo States.
The suspects, comprising nine truck drivers and one escort were intercepted and taken into custody in a well -coordinated sting operation. Solid minerals arrested with the suspects include lithium, tin, and lepidolite.
EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects
The suspects have no requisite licences, permits, or regulatory approvals for their mining activities.
Other items recovered from the suspects are trucks loaded with the unlawfully mined materials.
The suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
List Of 40 Suspects Detained Over Alleged Plot To Overthrow Tinubu Government
List of 40 suspects detained over alleged plot to overthrow Tinubu Government. Nigerian security agencies have concluded investigations into an alleged coup plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration, with at least 40 suspects detained in connection with the conspiracy.
The suspects include senior military officers, a police officer, and several civilians accused of roles ranging from reconnaissance and funding to propaganda.
According to a Premium Times report, the arrests followed a covert intelligence operation coordinated by the Army Headquarters and the State Security Service (SSS).
“Thirteen people were apprehended by the SSS, including two military personnel (one retired), one policeman, and ten civilians,” one source said.
In total, 16 serving military officers were detained for direct involvement, while others were linked to funding and incitement. Two civilians were reportedly recruited to incite civil unrest intended to justify the coup.
According to the online newspaper, one of the detained soldiers was said to have escaped custody but was later rearrested by SSS operatives in Bauchi State, according to insider accounts.
Recall that on Monday, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) confirmed that the investigation had been completed and forwarded to “appropriate superior authority in line with extant regulations.”
“Findings identified several officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government,” the military said, describing the act as “inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards required of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”
Sources said authorities are now awaiting presidential approval to constitute a court-martial panel to try the indicted soldiers.
Investigations revealed that the coupists initially planned to disrupt the May 29, 2023 handover ceremony from former President Muhammadu Buhari to President Tinubu, but the plan was shelved due to lack of funds and logistics.
The conspiracy was allegedly reactivated in 2025, after former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva purportedly transferred nearly ₦1 billion through multiple Bureau De Change accounts to fund the operation.
Sylva and a retired senior officer identified as Major General Adamu, both accused of bankrolling the plot, are reportedly at large.
Security sources said one of the fugitive suspects has been tracked to a South American country, though his precise location remained undisclosed for security reasons.
Investigators also uncovered a chilling plan to assassinate top government officials, including President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
“They were waiting for a day when all of them would be in the country. Wherever they were, they would be assassinated,” one source revealed.
The plot allegedly relied on informants inside the Presidential Villa, who monitored the movements of top officials. The conspirators were to seize control of strategic locations such as the Presidential Villa, Niger Barracks, Armed Forces Complex, and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
Military
Hereunder is the full list of the alleged coupists arrested
MA Sadiq (Brigadier General) Army lHeadquarters Garrison
MA Ma’aji (Colonel) Defence Space Administration
S Bappah (Lt. Colonel) 525 Signal Regiment
AA Hayatu (Lt Colonel) 130 Battalion Main, Ogoja, Cross River State
P Dangnap (Lt Colonel) 134 Special Force Battalion
M Almakura (Lt Colonel) 197 Special Force Battalion
AA Jarma (Lt Colonel) CO, 35 Battalion Katsina
SM Gana (Lt Colonel) 115 Task Force Battalion
AD Dauda (Maj) Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji
JM GANAKS (Maj) Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji
AJ Ibrahim (Maj) Army Headquarters’ Department of Policy and Plans
MM Jiddah (Maj) 26 Battalion
MA Usman (Maj) 35 Battalion
D Yusuf (Maj) Forward Operating Base Molai (AHQ SG)
J Iliyasu (Maj) 3 Division Garrison
A Mohammed (Maj) 63 Brigade Garrison
DB Abdullahi (Lt Cdr) Naval Base Abuja
SB Adamu (Sqn Ldr) National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC)
NG Zuzu (Sqn Ldr) Headquarters, Nigeria Air Force Camp
G Binuga (Captain) 1 NMF Brigade
AA Yusuf (Captain) Nigerian Army of the School of Finance and Administration (NASFA)
1 Bello (Captain) 82 Division Garrison
SS Felix (Lt) 81 Division Provost Group
J Aminu (Lt) Headquarters Directorate of Army Public Relations (DAPR)
Nasiru Ibrahim (WO) 82 Division Garrison
Sanda Usman (Sgt) 167 Special Force Battalion
Mohammed Zubairu (Sgt) 177 Guards Battalion
Momoh Audu (Cpl) 343 Artillery Regiment
Ahmed Ibrahim (Inspector) 24 Police Mobile Force, Presidential Villa
EO Victor (Navy Capt/Rtd) 3 Abraham Avenue off Odili Road, Port Harcourt
Umoru Zekeri Julius Berger, Villa Electrician
Y Nasiru (LCpl) 82 Division Garrison
Sambo Danladi (LCpl) 82 Division Garrison
Abdul Abdullahi (SSgt) 82 Division Garrison
Ali Isah Villa Ambulance Driver
ML Mohammed (Capt) 18 Battalion
UI Yusuf (Wg Cdr) International/Helicopter Flying School, Enugu
IM Gana (Maj Gen Rtd) No 34 A Army Estate, Kubwa, Abuja
Stanley Kingley Amandi Propagandist
Goni Bukar
Security sources confirmed that joint operations involving multiple agencies are underway to dismantle remaining cells and track fleeing suspects. The EFCC and SSS are also interrogating several civilians over alleged roles in funding, logistics, and coordination.
At least 25 military personnel are expected to face trial in connection with the plot, according to sources close to the investigation.
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