Linda Ikeji Blog has published the letter written by Peter Okoye to the attorney representing Square Records in which Peter seeks a dissolution of the business. The letter was written September 21st, 2017, only four days ago, and Ikeji already has her hands on it.
Now typically, it would not be a big deal, per se, to get exclusivity on a legal document, i.e. a demand letter usually coming from the lawyers in behalf of their clients or court documents. But this situation is different.
AML people, as a teaching point, Peter is a shareholder of a business writing a letter to the company’s lawyer who is tasked with representing the best interests of Square Records which includes Peter’s interest. How did this letter get from Peter to Linda Ikeji? Did Peter ask his representatives to share it with Ikeji? At a minimum, Peter should be highly concerned about protecting the privacy of this document, at this initial stage, before the lawsuits officially begin and the world should not have been privileged to see this document.
If you are in this situation, you want to ensure you maintain confidentiality of your matter, certainly in the pre-litigation phase of your case. Even when you do litigate, should you reach a settlement, 99.9% of cases that settle, settle confidentially. The public doesn’t get to see or know the contents of the settlement.
In my view, from the onset of the internal conflict between the brothers, Peter somehow manages to take private business and family matters which can be resolved in the absence of the public eye to the public and social media. I, therefore, find it ironic that he is accusing his brothers of taking his matters to social media in his letter.
As to the threats of violence, there is no room for violence towards one another or others. While the brothers have indeed engaged in physical altercations in the past, there is no room for it, and definitely no one should be walking around feeling unsafe. However, there are two sides to every story. Peter’s brothers have been very quiet from day one while Peter, for the most part, solicits the sympathetic ears and emotions of the public. As he continues, I can tell you all, for free, that this case will be very messy and ugly. So, if you are a fan or an industry professional, brace yourselves.
It really doesn’t look good from where I sit and frankly, no one can stop the pain and damage that lies ahead, except these brothers. So far, they are unwilling to do so.
It is rather unfortunate that it has come down to this.
-Ms. Uduak
AML ARCHIVED P-SQUARE COVERAGE/ARTICLES
In the Bitter Feud Between P-Square and Jude Okoye, Peter is Right. Jude Should Step Down as Manager (Feb. 2016)
7 Reasons Why P-Square is Officially Over (March 2016)
P-Square Breakup Gets Uglier as Peter Okoye Reveals “All” in New Interview (March 2016)
AML 074: Entertainment Law Roundtable: Nigerian Entertainment Lawyers Weigh in on The P-Square Breakup Saga (March 2016)
AML 075: Music Publishing in Nigeria, P-Square case study | Entertainment Law Roundtable (April 2016)
P-Square Alleged New Fight: Peter and Paul Okoye, we are tired of your overworn brouhahas (Sept. 2017)
You still refer to them as Peter and Paul; I call them Tom and Jerry. I wish one of them would just go ahead and drop the anvil on the other, and spare us anymore of this squabbling. They haven’t had a legitimate hit since ‘Alingo’–that’s the problem. Their partnership as musicians is like a sex-less marriage; it needs a spark to give it life again. As the money dries up, it’s like the necessary bodily fluids that dry up, causing friction, see.
But is it by force that they remain a musical group? Why can’t they just be BROTHERS?!! Why can’t they just grow up?