The legal battle involving the Okoye brothers has taken another turn after Inibehe Effiong, a former legal counsel to Jude Okoye, accused Peter Okoye (Mr P) of attempting to influence public opinion while the case remains before the courts.
Effiong made the allegation in a statement shared on his official X account, reacting to Peter’s recent social media posts accusing his elder brother of financial misconduct and mismanaging Psquare’s business affairs.
The human rights lawyer disclosed that his law firm initially handled Jude Okoye’s legal defence, including filing applications for his bail at both the Federal High Court and the High Court of Lagos State, before another legal team led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria took over the case.
According to Effiong, Jude Okoye has not been found guilty of any criminal offence and should continue to enjoy the constitutional presumption of innocence until the courts reach a final decision.
“Jude hasn’t been convicted of any crime by any court of law. We should afford him his constitutional right to the presumption of innocence,” the lawyer stated.
Effiong also defended the bail conditions imposed on Jude, saying they are standard legal procedures and should not be interpreted by the public as proof of guilt. He argued that such measures are common in criminal proceedings and do not determine the outcome of a case.
Criticising Peter’s continued public commentary, the lawyer described the ongoing social media exchanges as a “media trial”, insisting that disputes already before competent courts should be resolved through the judicial process rather than online debates.
He further claimed that some of Peter’s statements on social media differ from the evidence he has presented under cross-examination in court. While making the allegation, Effiong did not provide specific details of the purported inconsistencies but maintained that the proper place to determine the facts is the courtroom.
The dispute between Peter Okoye and Jude Okoye remains the subject of ongoing court proceedings, with both sides continuing to publicly defend their positions as Nigerians closely follow developments in one of the entertainment industry’s most high-profile family legal battles.
