The eldest brother of the members of the defunct music duo P-Square, Henry Okoye, has spoken publicly on the crisis dividing the Okoye family, accusing the group’s former manager and his younger brother, Jude Okoye, of being the mastermind behind the family’s prolonged division and expressing doubt that the twins, Peter and Paul, will ever reconcile.
Speaking in an interview at their father’s residence in Plateau State, Henry offered an account of the family’s early years, his own role in supporting Peter and Paul before they became stars, and what he described as the breakdown of relationships that followed Jude’s entry into the group’s management.
Henry identified himself as the direct senior to Jude, with Peter and Paul, the twins, among the youngest. He said the family is eight in number, made up of two girls and six boys, and mentioned another brother senior to him, Christopher Okoye, whom he described as deeply religious. He noted that a sister, Lillian, and another brother directly senior to the twins were part of the early support network around P-Square.
Rejecting the narrative that Jude built the group’s career, Henry insisted that the family’s support for Peter and Paul began long before Jude became involved. He recalled that when the brothers started out and were looking for sponsors, none came forward, and that he began sponsoring them himself at a time when Jude was not present.
He said that when Benson & Hedges came to Jos in search of an artist, he personally took the brothers to the stadium for the performance, after which they came first, again stressing that Jude was not there. According to him, the family travelled from state to state for music, used his car for flyers, and supported the brothers collectively while understanding that the group belonged to Peter and Paul. He said his sister Lillian collected gate fees while he, as the elder brother, served as a bodyguard alongside his friends for the twins, and that they would travel from Jos to Abuja as a family.
Henry said that it was only after the brothers had begun making money gradually that Jude came in wanting to manage them. He claimed that their late mother initially disagreed, and that the brother who directly seniors the twins had to beg her before she relented. He said his mother knew Jude’s character very well, framing that knowledge as central to how the arrangement unfolded, and he maintained that she had reservations about the kind of person Jude was.
He said that after Jude assumed management, the brothers gradually became distant from the rest of the family. “They started running away from everybody. We never knew that it was Jude that was causing the problem,” he said, adding that Jude, though his brother, is “very bad” and “not a nice person,” and that he does not care for anybody.
Henry claimed that before the group became successful, the brothers promised him a twenty per cent share in each show or piece of music in recognition of his early contributions, but that he has never received anything. He said that after three or four years he raised the matter and was rebuffed by Jude.
By his account, Jude responded by asking what he meant by twenty per cent and for what, arguing that the brothers were flying from country to country and questioning whether Henry would enjoy himself if there were a plane crash. Henry said he reminded Jude that he was not there when the group started, yet had come in and was trying to chase everybody away, including Tony, an elder brother and one of the group’s dancers.
Henry said he had not been on speaking terms with Jude for close to one or two years. He recalled that when he was admitted to hospital for two months during an illness the previous year, Peter and Paul called to check on him but Jude never called once. He alleged that Jude had severed ties with him and ignored other struggling relatives, including their youngest sister, whom he said is suffering in Lagos while, in his words, nobody cares about her, though he acknowledged that Peter is trying.
He also recalled that when the father of Peter’s wife died, he questioned why he had been left alone in Jos, and that Peter directed him to Jude, saying Jude was the one holding his money. He added that he had done his best to reunite the family and that even a prominent figure, Shehu Dantata, had spoken to the brothers without success.
Henry singled out Paul, whom he described as previously the kindest person in the family, saying he was surprised at how Paul had changed. He said he could not tell whether Jude had used “juju” on Paul, while making clear this was speculation on his part. He said he had watched Peter’s multi-part video series and Jude’s response, but declined to take sides on the specific claims, noting that he was not present for the events in Lagos.
Henry’s intervention comes amid a long-running dispute among the Okoye brothers. The rift between Peter and Paul contributed to the duo’s 2017 split; the pair reunited in 2021 before falling out again in 2024, after Peter accused Paul of working with Jude to undermine him and raised allegations over the management of the group’s finances, including claims about a company he said was receiving royalties belonging to the group. Jude was later arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over allegations he denies, pleading not guilty, and the financial dispute has continued in court.
Henry’s intervention comes amid a long-running dispute among the Okoye brothers. The rift between Peter and Paul contributed to the duo’s 2017 split; the pair reunited in 2021 before falling out again in 2024, after Peter accused Paul of working with Jude to undermine him and raised allegations over the management of the group’s finances, including claims about a company he said was receiving royalties belonging to the group. Jude was later arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over allegations he denies, pleading not guilty, and the financial dispute has continued in court.
Jude Okoye has denied the financial allegations, stating that the matters are before the courts, and has accused Peter of conducting a media trial rather than allowing the legal process to run its course. Paul has publicly defended Jude and attributed his elder brother’s legal troubles to Peter.