Jude Okoye Hits Back At Mr P Over $1.2m Royalty Allegation
The long running financial dispute between the Okoye brothers took another public turn on Sunday, August 2, 2026, when former P Square manager Jude Okoye used an Instagram video to reject claims by his younger brother, Peter Okoye, popularly known as Mr P, that he diverted more than $1.2 million in music royalties. Jude insisted the allegations had already been examined by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and remain before a Lagos court.
The exchange is the latest chapter in a case that has run for roughly two and a half years. Records show Peter petitioned the EFCC on January 22, 2024, prompting an investigation that culminated in Jude’s arraignment alongside his company, Northside Music Limited, before the Federal High Court in Lagos. The charge sheet, filed in 2025, accused Jude and Northside Music of unlawfully converting sums totalling $1,019,763.87 and £34,537.59, figures that translate to roughly N1.3 billion at prevailing exchange rates, arising from royalties collected through digital distributors including IROKO. Jude pleaded not guilty on all counts.
Trial proceedings before Justice Alexander Owoeye and, in related sittings, Justice Rahman Oshodi, have featured repeated twists. Peter testified as the prosecution’s first witness in May 2025, telling the court that Jude operated as sole manager of Northside accounts and that no royalties were paid to the group between P Square’s 2017 split and its 2021 reunion. Under cross examination by defence counsel Clement Onwuenwunor, however, Peter later conceded he was in fact a co-signatory to the Northside Entertainment account at Ecobank, contradicting his earlier position that Jude alone controlled the funds. The defence also produced EFCC documentation in which Peter had described himself as a university graduate, an assertion he acknowledged in open court was inaccurate.
The case has also suffered several adjournments linked to Peter’s non-appearance, including a stalled sitting in June 2026 when prosecuting counsel told the court his flight from Abuja had been rescheduled. Such delays have featured prominently in Jude’s public defence, with his Instagram video accusing Peter of avoiding cross examination while simultaneously pressing his case in the media. He said Peter had missed “three good sittings” and framed the timing of the fresh allegations as an attempt to sway public opinion.
On the specific claims raised by Peter in a recent online series, Jude offered point by point rebuttals. He said a disputed $25,000 payment to him and twin brother Paul Okoye, known as Rudeboy, followed instructions Peter himself issued in 2016. He maintained Peter remained a signatory on all P Square accounts, disputing suggestions he had been removed. He also disputed Peter’s account of delays in handing over the group’s music catalogue backend records, saying access was granted within six days rather than the three and a half months alleged, and that digital logs showed Peter accessing the files soon after. On the currency of payments, Jude said dollar denominated royalties had been paid to Peter since 2012, not only in recent years as claimed.
Beyond the courtroom, Jude described the financial toll of the prolonged case, saying his bank account has remained frozen for more than two years, restricting his ability to travel.
Neither the EFCC nor the Federal High Court has issued a fresh public update on the substantive trial since the June adjournment, and the matter remains active, meaning the competing claims traded between the brothers this week are yet to be tested to conclusion before a judge. The dispute, rooted in the 2017 breakup of one of Africa’s most commercially successful music duos, continues to sit at the intersection of family estrangement, corporate structuring of entertainment royalties, and Nigeria’s evolving digital music economy, with its outcome likely to shape how royalty disputes among artiste family enterprises are scrutinised going forward.