Why Supreme Court Ordered P-Square To Pay Promoter N25 Million

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has ruled in favor of Mr. Patrick Arueze, against P-Square members, Peter and Paul Okoye.

The apex court directed P-Square along with their brother Jude Okoye, to compensate the promoter with the sum of N25 million for breach of contract.

The court’s decision stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Mr. Arueze, who alleged that the musicians violated a contractual agreement by failing to perform at a show in Benin City in 2011.

The case was initially heard at the Edo State High Court presided over by Justice Esther Edigin.

Despite attempts by the Okoye brothers to overturn the judgment, including a motion filed in October 2016, their efforts were unsuccessful.

Subsequent motions at the Court of Appeal, Benin Division, were also dismissed and they later issued a cheque through one of the commercial banks.

However, when the cheque was presented to the bank, the musicians sought to halt the payment through legal maneuvers, but their motions were consistently rejected by the courts.

In a bid to appeal the ruling, the Okoyes filed a motion at the Supreme Court, which included the bank as a party, despite its absence in the previous proceedings.

The Supreme Court deemed this action inappropriate and awarded one million naira as cost for the application.

Commenting on the judgment, Mr. Arueze’s legal representative, E. O. Afolabi, SAN, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, noting the accumulation of the compensation amount since 2014, along with a 20 percent interest.

Afolabi told Vanguard: “Arueze got judgment against them and they now sent a cheque but when we wanted to cash the cheque, they went to court to stop it but the court refused.

“They went to the Court of Appeal which also refused their stay of execution.

“They went to Supreme Court and the lawyer joined the bank who is not a party to the suit at the Court of Appeal.

“The Supreme Court was not happy and awarded N1m cost against P-Square and their lawyer did not appear.

“With this judgment, the applicants are to pay over Twenty five point eight million naira having accumulated since 2014 with 20 percent interest.”

KanyiDaily recalls that in 2021, Peter and Paul Okoye of the PSquare music group, apologized to all their fans for their fight and breakup.