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 laundering ₦1.38 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.
Okoye was arraigned alongside his company, Northside Music Ltd, before Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday, facing a seven-count charge related to money laundering.
According to the EFCC, in 2022, Okoye allegedly acquired a property worth ₦850 million at No. 5 Tony Eromosele Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, using funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
Also, he was accused of converting $1,019,762.87 through a bureau de change and distributing the naira equivalent across multiple bank accounts to conceal the origin of the funds.
Following his plea, the prosecution counsel, Larry Peters Aso, requested a hearing date and urged the court to remand the defendant in a correctional facility pending trial.
However, Okoye’s lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, informed the court of a pending bail application and requested that his client be kept in EFCC custody until the hearing.
Aso opposed this request, arguing that the EFCC detention center was overcrowded and that the defendant should be held in a correctional facility instead.
Justice Owoeye scheduled the bail hearing for February 28 and set April 14 for the commencement of the trial.
He also ordered that Okoye be remanded in the Ikoyi Correctional Facility.
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