The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Jude Okoye, the elder brother and former manager of Paul and Peter Okoye of the defunct music group P-Square, on charges of money laundering involving ₦1.38 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.
Jude was arraigned alongside his company, Northside Music Ltd, before Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Lagos on a seven-count charge.
One of the charges stated that in 2022, Jude and his company allegedly acquired a property at No. 5 Tony Eromosele Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, worth ₦850 million, knowing or reasonably suspecting that the money used was proceeds of an unlawful act. This, according to the EFCC, violates Section 18 (2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Another count alleged that Jude and Northside Music Ltd used a bureau de change to convert $1,019,762.87 from an account domiciled in Access Bank Plc to naira and remitted it into various accounts to conceal its source, an act that contravenes Section 18 (2)(a) of the same Act.
Jude pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
Following his plea, the EFCC’s counsel, Larry Peters Aso, requested a trial date and asked for the defendant to be remanded in a correctional facility pending trial. However, Jude’s lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, informed the court of a pending bail application and requested that his client remain in EFCC custody until the bail hearing.
The prosecution opposed this request, citing congestion at EFCC facilities and urging the court to remand Jude in a correctional facility instead.
Justice Owoeye adjourned the case to February 28 for the bail hearing and April 14 for trial. Meanwhile, he ordered that Jude be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Facility until the bail decision is made.
