Music executive Jude Okoye has been released from prison after almost two months, ENigeria News can report authoritatively.
Jude Okoye was initially arraigned by men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, on charges bordering on money laundering and illegal conversion of funds said to be proceeds from musical royalties accrued by defunct musical group P-Square.
Jude Okoye is standing trial alongside his company, Northside Music Limited, on a seven-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N1.38 billion, which the EFCC says are alleged proceeds from the royalties of musical works belonging to P-Square, which he allegedly diverted for personal use and the purchase of a massive Ikoyi property, among other things.
Justice Owoeye heard and ruled on the bail application submitted by lawyers representing Mr. Okoye.
According to the ruling, the defendant was granted bail alongside two sureties in the like sum of N100 million each. The two sureties were to provide documents to their properties within the jurisdiction of the court, among other conditions, which also include a travel ban on the defendant.
ENigeria News reports that Mr. Okoye was again arraigned on similar charges before Justice Ramon Oshodi of the Special Offenses Court in Ikeja on March 6, 2025, and bail was also granted by the court.
The bail condition included two sureties in the like sum of N50 million each, alongside other conditions that also included a travel ban and confiscation of the defendant’s two passports (a Nigerian passport and another passport of St. Kitts and Nevis).
Having closely monitored developments on the case from inception, ENigeria News can report exclusively that after meeting the conditions for his release on bail in the two courts, Okoye was at exactly 5:40 pm set free from the Ikoyi Correctional Facility into the waiting arms of his brother, Paul Okoye, and P-Square’s official lawyer, Barrister Somadina Eugene Okorie. Together they all drove to their Ikoyi mansion, where a party was thrown to celebrate the defendant’s release.
