EFCC arraigns Jude Okoye for alleged N1.38bn money laundering
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, arraigned Jude Okoye Chigozie, former manager and elder brother of Paul and Peter Okoye of the defunct P-Square music group, over alleged money laundering amounting to N1.38 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.
Okoye was arraigned alongside his company, Northside Music Ltd, before Justice A.O. Owoeye at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The EFCC filed a seven-count charge against him, accusing him of financial misconduct, including the purchase of an N850 million property in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, allegedly using proceeds of unlawful activity.
One of the charges states that Okoye and Northside Music Ltd, in 2022, acquired a landed property at No. 5 Tony Eromosele Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, with funds allegedly derived from illicit activities.
Another charge accuses him of converting over $1 million through a bureau de change and transferring the naira equivalent into various bank accounts to conceal the funds’ origin.
Okoye pleaded not guilty to all charges. The prosecution counsel, L.P. Aso, requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant in a correctional facility.
However, the defence counsel, Inibehe Effiong, applied for bail and requested that Okoye be held in EFCC custody pending the hearing of the bail application. The prosecution opposed this request, arguing that the EFCC’s detention facility was overcrowded and that the accused should be remanded in a correctional centre.
Justice Owoeye adjourned the bail hearing to February 28, 2025, and set April 14, 2025, for trial. Meanwhile, Okoye has been remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre.
