Supreme Court Orders P-Square to Pay N25 Million in Breach of Contract Case

Nigeria’s Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Mr Patrick Arueze in a long-standing breach of contract case against music duo P-Square (Peter and Paul Okoye) and their manager, Jude Okoye. The court ordered the defendants to pay Arueze a total of N25 million.

The case stems from a 2011 incident where Arueze contracted P-Square to perform at a show in Benin City. However, the group failed to appear, prompting Arueze to file a lawsuit for breach of contract in the Edo State High Court. The court ruled in Arueze’s favour.

P-Square attempted to overturn the initial ruling through various legal manoeuvres. Their motion to reverse the judgment in 2016 was dismissed, followed by a failed attempt to obtain a stay of execution at the Benin Division of the Court of Appeal

P-Square eventually issued a cheque in Arueze’s name. Still, upon attempting to cash it, the musicians instructed their lawyers to block the payment through another motion at the Court of Appeal. This motion was also dismissed as being frivolous.

P-Square’s final attempt involved appealing the dismissal of their motion to block payment at the Supreme Court. This appeal was unsuccessful, with the court criticising including the bank (not a party to the original appeal) in the motion. Justice Uwani Musa Abba-Aji awarded N1 million in costs against P-Square and their lawyer for this move.

With the Supreme Court’s ruling, Arueze will receive the initial N25 million awarded by the Edo State High Court, along with accumulated interest since 2014, bringing the total sum to N25.8 million. This case highlights the importance of honouring contracts and the legal consequences of breaching them.

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Ikenna Churchill

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