Peter Okoye, widely known as Mr P and one half of the former music duo P-Square, on Friday told the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja that he is a co-signatory to the Northside Entertainment Limited bank account, contradicting his earlier testimony that his elder brother, Jude Okoye, was the sole signatory.
Peter made the disclosure while giving evidence before Justice Rahman Oshodi in the ongoing trial of Jude Okoye, who is facing charges of alleged $1 million theft filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Earlier in the proceedings, Peter had informed the court that Jude alone controlled the company’s accounts and finances. During cross-examination, however, defence counsel Clement Onwuewunor (SAN) presented bank mandates showing that Peter and his twin brother Paul were also listed as signatories.
When asked why he previously said a bank told him he was only a shareholder and not a signatory, Peter explained that the information came from a phone discussion with officials of what he described as a “new bank.”
“My Lord, the information I got was from a phone conversation with officials of the new bank,” he said.
But when questioned specifically about the Northside Entertainment Limited account with Ecobank, he acknowledged, “My Lord, I am a co-signatory to the Northside Entertainment Limited account in Ecobank.”
Peter attempted to reconcile the contradiction, stating that Jude initially operated the account alone before later adding him and Paul as signatories.
“From the very onset, Jude was the only signatory. But after some years, he made myself and Paul signatories,” he said. “Despite that, I never personally signed cheques or carried out transactions.”
During cross-examination, Peter also reiterated that the PSquare music catalogue belongs solely to him and his twin brother, excluding Jude.
“The catalogue is the collection of songs we produced over the years,” he explained, adding that the duo released about six albums with between 10 and 15 tracks each, amounting to nearly 100 songs.
He further told the court that Jude was not an original member of the group but later joined as manager around 2004 or 2005 after they had worked with other managers.
“There was no written contract or formal letter of employment documenting his appointment,” he admitted.
When the defence suggested that the singers were merely the public faces of the group while Jude handled more substantial behind-the-scenes responsibilities, Peter rejected the assertion.
“We all started together as students. We had several managers before Jude. The success of PSquare was built by me and my twin brother from the beginning,” he said.
Peter confirmed that the brothers created companies to manage their music business, including Northside Entertainment Limited as a management outfit and Square Records Limited as a record label.
“That arrangement meant we were not just artistes but part-owners of the companies handling our music and business affairs,” he said.
Under further questioning, he acknowledged that Jude held about 40 per cent of the shares in Northside Entertainment Limited, while he held about 30 per cent, though he said he could not confirm the exact figures.
He also identified Mad Solutions as one of the organisations responsible for collecting and distributing royalties from PSquare songs in Nigeria.
“They pay me my own share into my personal account as Peter Okoye. I cannot speak for how payments due to others are handled,” he said.
At another point, the defence presented a contract relating to royalty distribution and asked him to verify whether the signature on it was his.
“The signature looks like mine, but I need to examine the document more closely,” Peter said.
Justice Oshodi adjourned the case until May 15, 2026, for continuation of the trial.
