The latest publicly reported court development in the P-Square royalty dispute is a September 21, 2026 testimony by Peter Okoye, known professionally as Mr P. Reporting from the Lagos Federal High Court says he told the court that he received more than US$800,000 in royalties from French rights organisation SACEM over a ten-year period, and that he did not share that amount with his elder brother Jude. The figure is part of testimony—not a court finding that settles the wider case.
What the court heard
According to The Telegraph Nigeria’s September 22 report, Peter was cross-examined in the trial of Jude Okoye and Northside Music Limited. The testimony concerned payments for ten P-Square songs and the way the group’s royalty arrangements were handled. Reports also say Peter acknowledged that Jude had signed a SACEM contract on behalf of the group and had directed some music videos, while disputing that his brother was part of the creative group in the same sense as the two performers.
That distinction—performer, songwriter, manager, representative and rights administrator—sits at the heart of many music-business conflicts. A group may appear to audiences as two voices and a shared name, while contracts, publishing, master recordings, distribution accounts and collection-society registrations assign responsibilities across a much larger circle. The legal question is not answered by a viral clip or by which sibling has the more compelling Instagram caption. It depends on documents, testimony and the court’s eventual assessment.
The criminal case remains unresolved
Jude Okoye and his company face a seven-count charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission involving alleged transactions of about ₦1.3 billion and US$1 million. Jude has pleaded not guilty. Premium Times reported in August that Jude rejected Peter’s allegations and maintained that the royalty and catalogue issues had previously been reviewed. Those are competing positions. The prosecution must prove its case; the defence is entitled to challenge it; and the court has not declared the accused guilty.
The trial was scheduled to continue on December 8 and 9, 2026, according to the September reports. That makes the next hearing a procedural milestone, not a verdict. Readers should be wary of headlines that collapse “testified,” “accused,” “charged” and “convicted” into one word. They describe different stages, and the difference is not a technicality when reputations and livelihoods are involved.
Why this matters beyond the family feud
P-Square’s songs travelled far beyond Nigeria, but the business systems that distribute royalties are often invisible to listeners. Collection societies gather performance and publishing revenue across territories; distributors report streams and sales; contracts specify who can authorise decisions. When records are incomplete or access is disputed, even a successful catalogue can become a source of suspicion rather than stability.
The court proceeding may eventually clarify specific payments and responsibilities, but it cannot restore the group’s former unity by decree. For now, the most responsible account is also the least sensational: Peter gave testimony about SACEM payments; Jude denies wrongdoing; and the criminal case remains pending. We will update this report when a new, independently reported court development is available.
Sources: The Telegraph Nigeria, September 22, 2026; Premium Times, August 3, 2026. Related: who earns when Nigerian music travels.