The legal counsel representing Jude Okoye, Clement Onwuenwunor, has accused singer Peter Okoye, popularly known as Mr P, of deliberately misleading the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with false and contradictory statements.
Jude Okoye, who once managed the defunct music duo P-Square, is standing trial alongside his company, Northside Music Limited, before the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja over alleged theft and conversion of music royalties.
The EFCC is prosecuting the case on four counts bordering on the alleged theft of $1,019,763.87 and £34,537.59 from the group’s digital distribution and publishing revenue.
During Friday’s court session, Peter Okoye concluded his testimony and was cross-examined by the defence counsel.
Onwuenwunor accused the singer of presenting inconsistent and misleading information both in his written statement to the EFCC and in court.
A key point of contention was Peter’s claim in his EFCC statement that he was a graduate of the University of Abuja. However, under cross-examination, the lawyer confronted him with evidence to the contrary.
“He had dropped out of the University of Abuja,” Onwuenwunor told the court. When pressed, Peter admitted he had not completed his studies and attempted to explain that he only meant he “attended” the university.
But EFCC records showed he had described himself as a “graduate.”
Onwuenwunor also presented documentary evidence contradicting Peter’s earlier claim that Jude was the sole signatory to Northside Entertainment Limited’s bank accounts.
The defence lawyer submitted a bank mandate indicating that while Jude was a category A signatory, Peter and his twin brother Paul were category B signatories.
Peter had earlier told the court, “My lord, an account he is the only one that operates, I have never held a cheque. Any time I demand for money, from Jude, he will send me $10,000, send to Paul and pay himself, as if I don’t have family to take care of, I have school fees to pay.”
However, the defence presented bank statements showing Peter personally withdrew substantial amounts in both naira and dollars.
In response, Peter said, “I did not lie, I don’t go to the bank, it is recently I started going to the bank. He gives the cheque to the assistant manager to cash the money from the bank and the manager pays it into my account.”
The lawyer further highlighted transactions made directly by Jude to Peter, which contradict Peter’s sworn statement that he never financially benefited from deals managed by Jude.
Peter claimed ignorance about the sources of the payments, saying, “I never knew that the money was from Lex Records, because Jude just pays into my account, and it’s his name that appears in the narration of the payment.”
Peter also alleged that Jude operated more than 47 bank accounts.
“When I went to EFCC, they told me that he had more than 47 bank accounts,” he said.
When asked if he questioned the source of the money, he said, “No, because we have millions of dollars in our account.”
The defence also disputed Peter’s claims regarding royalty payments from Mad Solutions, the company managing P-Square’s catalogue.
Peter had testified that he only received $25,000 and $20,000 and was unaware of the agreement with the firm. But the defence presented documents signed by Jude, Peter, and Paul, showing that all three parties were part of the agreement and entitled to equal royalty shares.
Contrary to Peter’s claim, the records showed he actually received $4,330.47 and $5,837.35 as his first and second payments respectively.
“Peter’s testimony before the EFCC is riddled with lies and misrepresentations,” Onwuenwunor told the court.
“He has made multiple assertions that have now been shown to be false under cross-examination. This is not just a matter of forgetfulness. This is an intentional effort to mislead investigators and this honourable court.”
Justice Rahman Oshodi admitted several EFCC documents and bank statements into evidence and advised the defence to provide all relevant materials to the prosecution in advance.
“If you intend to use a document, make it available to them to make the trial faster,” the judge said.
Earlier in his testimony, Peter had claimed he was not entitled to proceeds from Northside Music, alleging that Jude used P-Square’s letterhead to sign other artistes like Cynthia Morgan. “He used our letterheaded paper to sign Cynthia Morgan, so I was not entitled to that,” he said.
Peter added that Jude only managed the group and should not have benefited from ownership. “The catalogue belongs to Peter and Paul. The manager only gets paid for managing, not from ownership. We allowed Jude to manage us because he’s our brother,” he said.
He also claimed he discovered irregularities while preparing for a trip to Turkey. “I discovered that the defendant and my twin brother (Paul) took almost $800,000 from the account, so I took the account to EFCC,” he testified.
Justice Oshodi adjourned the case to October 10 and 17, for the continuation of trial.
