Justice Alexander Owoeye of a Federal High Court, Lagos, has fixed Monday, March 3, for ruling on the bail application of Jude Okoye, the former manager of the hip-hop artists, the defunct music group P-square.
Justice Owoeye fixed the March 3, for ruling on the bail after taken arguments from his lawyer, Inibehe Effiong and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lawyer, Mr. Fanny Anum.
It would be recalled that Jude Okoye, who is the elder brother to Peter and Paul of P-square, was arraigned before the court on Wednesday, by the EFCC on alleged crime of money laundering involving ₦1.38 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.
He was arraigned alongside his company, Northside Music Limited, on a seven-count charge.
One of the charges reads: “that you, Jude Okoye Chigozie and Northside Music Limited sometime in 2022, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did directly acquire a landed property known as No 5, Tony Eromosele Street Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos worth ₦850,000,000.00 (Eight hundred and fifty million naira) only, which money you knew or reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of unlawful act and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (2) (d) and punishable under Section 18 (3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Another charge reads that Okoye and his company, in 2022, used a Bureau De Change to convert $1,019,762.87 USD, held in an Access Bank account operated by Northside Music Ltd, into naira and transferred the funds into various bank accounts to conceal the illicit origin of the money.
This alleged act, according to the EFCC, violates Section 18 (2)(a) and is punishable under Section 18 (3) of the same Act.
He had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Consequently, he was remanded at the Ikoyi centre of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS), while hearing on his bail application was adjourned to today.
At the resumed hearing of the bail application, his lawyer, Effiong, told the court that his client’s bail application was pursuant to relevant provisions of the law.
He stated that the reason for the application is on medical ground, and that it is supported with an affidavit and a written address.
Effiong also told the court that the prosecutor had responded to the application by filing a counter-affidavit, wherein it states that the applicant is a flight risk and that he will interfere with the witnesses.
He also told the court that the matter before the is a family issue. He therefore urged the court to discountenance the prosecutor’s counter-affidavit and grant bail to the defendant in the most liberal terms.
Responding, the prosecutor, Anum, told the court that his agency filed a counter-affidavit of 13 paragraphs deposed to by Rabana Job, an investigator with EFCC
He also told the court that there is no medical report to support the applicant’s claim of any health issues.
He urged the court to refuse the bail application, and order accelerated hearing of the matter.
Justice Owoeye after taking arguments of parties adjourned the matter to Monday for ruling on the bail application.
