The trial of Jude Okoye, the elder brother and former manager of Paul and Peter Okoye of the defunct music group, P-Square, for alleged money laundering of $1m, N1.3bn and £34,537.59 continued on Friday at a High Court sitting in Lagos.
The prosecution witness Peter Okoye was crossed examined on Friday before Justice Rahman Oshodi, by the defence counsel Clement Onwuenwunor (SAN).
During the cross-examination, Peter denied receiving any royalties from lex records.
“I discovered that Jude used our letter headed paper to sign other contracts and I never received any payments “.
“I and my brother never signed any cheque, it never happened. I have never signed. “
The defence counsel asked Jude “Mr. P most of the statement you made at the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) were half truth”. And Peter’s response was “I disagree, they were nothing but the truth.”
Clement went further to ask Peter if he and Paul his twin brother were category B signatories (zenith Bank, Eko Bank, FCMB, Sterling) to Northside entertainment limited Bank accounts and he said no, stating that their elder is the sole signatory to their Northside Bank accounts.
“Jude usually gives me money through the assistant manager “. I hardly go to the Bank” Peter said.
“I discovered a statement of account sometime in March 2023 to October 2024 and the account statement looks like an embassy statement “. Within this period, I discovered that Jude Okoye and my twin brother Paul took the sum of nearly about $ 800,000 dollars without my knowledge”. Peter added .
The EFCC prosecution counsel, Bashir Mohammed, told the court, that they have more witnesses call in this trial. And requested for the copies of the statement of accounts from the defendant counsel.
However, when the prosecution counsel showed the prosecution witness the statement of Bank accounts stating how different sums of withdrawal in dollars were made in his name. And asked him ” Mr. P, is this the statement “? Peter replied “Yes”.
The court then admitted the statement of account as an exhibit.
The Judge urged the defendant counsel to furnish the prosecutor counsel with the exhibits and any other documents he would rely on in the case.
“If you intend to use a document, make it available to them to make the trial faster, “he said
The judge adjourned the of trial till October 10 and 17 2025.