Singer Peter Okoye of the defunct music group, P-Square, has admitted receiving approximately $800,000 in royalties from the French copyright organisation SACEM for the group’s musical works, but said he did not give his elder brother, Jude Okoye, any portion of the money.
Peter made the admission while testifying before Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Lagos, where he was cross-examined by Clement Onwuewunor, SAN, counsel to Jude.
Jude Okoye and his company, Northside Music Limited, are facing a seven-count charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged fraud involving N1.3 billion and $1 million. Jude has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the resumed proceedings, Peter testified virtually and was questioned about his earlier claim that Jude took more than three months to provide him with P-Square’s backend royalty records after he requested them in 2022.
Counsel to Jude put it to Peter that the request was made on October 16, 2022, and that Jude obtained and forwarded the records to him six days later, on October 22.
Peter disagreed, maintaining that he had made the request earlier in 2022.
However, when asked to produce any text message, email or document showing that he had made the request before October 16, Peter admitted: “No. I don’t have any and I can’t recall.”
The singer also confirmed that he eventually received the royalty report sent by Jude and acknowledged that it covered royalties from 2016 to 2022, including records relating to Lex Records.
Peter explained that the report was requested because some individuals were interested in acquiring the P-Square music catalogue.
He further admitted that Jude had forwarded the account information to him in 2022 and that the EFCC was aware that the report had been sent to him.
However, Peter disputed Jude’s entitlement to royalties paid through SACEM, maintaining that the payments belonged to him and his twin brother, Paul.
When confronted with the fact that the SACEM contract was signed by Jude rather than Peter or Paul, the singer maintained that it was signed by “the team,” while insisting that Jude was not part of the team.
Peter also confirmed that the 10 songs for which SACEM paid royalties were P-Square songs.
He admitted that he had previously paid one-quarter of his SACEM share to Jude but denied that Jude demanded quarterly payments from the royalties following their reconciliation in 2022.
The singer was subsequently confronted with the claim that he had received approximately $800,000 from SACEM between 2016 and 2026.
Peter admitted receiving the money but said nothing was given to Jude, maintaining that the royalties were meant for the artists.
Asked whether he informed Jude about the payments, Peter answered: “No, the money was for the artists”.
Peter was also questioned about payments allegedly made to Jude in his capacity as manager of P-Square.
He said he had no employment contract with Jude, explaining that their arrangement was through Northside Entertainment Limited.
When asked directly whether Jude was part of P-Square, Peter replied: “Jude is not part of P-Square.”
Asked whether that meant Jude was not involved in the music produced by P-Square, Peter maintained that all the group’s songs were composed, written and produced by him and Paul.
He, however, acknowledged that Jude directed some of P-Square’s music videos.
SACEM, a French professional association, collects and distributes royalties on behalf of songwriters, composers and publishers.
Further hearing in the case has been adjourned to December 8 and 9, 2026.
