Singer Peter Okoye has admitted before a Lagos High Court that he is a co-signatory to a bank account linked to an ongoing fraud case, contradicting his earlier statement that he was not.
Peter made the admission while testifying in the trial of his elder brother, Jude Okoye, who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged one million dollar fraud.
During cross-examination, defence counsel presented bank documents showing that Peter was listed as a co signatory to Northside Entertainment Limited’s account with Ecobank Nigeria.
Responding, he said, “My Lord, I am a cosignatory to the Northside Entertainment Limited account in Ecobank.”
Peter explained that his earlier claim that he was not a signatory was based on information he received during a phone conversation with bank officials.
“My Lord, the information I got was from a phone conversation with officials of the new bank,” he told the court.
He stated that Jude was initially the sole signatory to the account but later added him and his twin brother. He, however, maintained that he never signed cheques or carried out transactions on the account.
Peter also told the court that the music catalogue of P-Square belongs to him and his twin brother, not Jude. He said the group operated through Northside Entertainment Limited and Square Records Limited, which handled their music and business affairs.
“That arrangement meant we were not just artistes but part owners of the companies handling our music and business affairs,” he said.
Jude has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The EFCC had earlier alleged that funds running into one million dollars were diverted from Northside Entertainment Limited without proper authorisation. The anti-graft agency accused Jude of misappropriating company revenue and breaching trust in the course of managing the group’s finances.
The case is part of a long-running dispute within the Okoye family over the management of P-Square’s business structure and royalties. The music duo, once managed by Jude, split in 2017 following disagreements over finances and control. They reunited in 2021 but ended up splitting.
The trial was adjourned for continuation of hearing.
