A Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, (TBS) has adjourned the case of a Danish man, Peter Nielsen who is accused of killing his Nigerian wife Zainab and three-and-a-half-year-old daughter till May 20.
Judge Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile was supposed to deliver the judgment on Friday, but court officials said it wasn’t ready, so it had to be rescheduled. The judge had fixed May 6 for judgment after the court decided on the prosecution’s and defence’s final written addresses on March 1, 2022.
In January 2018, Kogi-born Zainab, also known as Alizee, was promoting her single ‘Alhaji Musa’ for an Asian record label called Petra Entertainment when she allegedly was murdered.
The Lagos State Government accused Nielsen, now 57, of smothering her and their daughter to death at about 3:45 am on April 5, 2018, at No. 4, Flat 17, Bella Vista Tower, Banana Island, Ikoyi.
Nielsen was arraigned on June 13, 2018, on a two-count charge of murder under Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
He pleaded not guilty, following which trial commenced.
At trial, the court heard that Zainab and Petra died of head injuries and asphyxia (from suffocation) that were not self-inflicted. A pathologist, Prof. John Obafunwa, testified that a post-mortem examination of Zainab’s corpse revealed that she died because the mouth and nose were forcibly closed, depriving her of oxygen.
She had also suffered bruises around her head which were consistent with “blunt force trauma that were not enough to cause any fracture.”
Obafunwa said evidence showed the deceased struggled to free herself from her killer’s grip using her hands and nails.
The result of a DNA analysis of Zainab’s nail clipping, the witness added, revealed the presence of her DNA material and that of “an individual described as Peter”.
On September 20, 2019, the prosecution team led by Ms Titilayo Shitta Bey (now Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice) concluded their case.
Rather than open his case, Nielsen argued that the prosecution had failed to link him with the alleged deaths, noting in particular that a particularly important prosecution exhibit was missing.
He filed a “no case” submission, praying the court to end the proceedings and set him free.
But on July 19, 2021, the defendant lost his bid to regain freedom.
Justice Okikiolu-Ighile dismissed Nielsen’s application seeking to be discharged of the double murder charge.
The judge noted that the application, filed by Nielsen’s counsel, Mr Olasupo Shasore (SAN), was brilliant but premature.
She held that both prosecution and defence had called witnesses and tendered exhibits which were not premised on the said exhibit.
The Dane had premised his application on a missing piece of critical evidence said to have been destroyed during the burning down of the Igbosere High Court last October.
Shasore had prayed the court to discharge the defendant on the basis that the exhibit – Nielsen’s late wife’s nightgown containing DNA evidence – was missing.
According to Shasore, the nightgown the woman wore the night she was killed could no longer be found in the court’s record due to the burning of the court by hoodlums who hijacked the October 2020 #EndSARS protest.
He submitted that substantial justice could not be done in the absence of the exhibit.
“The submission of the learned silk is premature, the application sought and the consequential relief are hereby dismissed,” the judge held.
The judge ordered Nielsen to open his defence.
In his defence, Nielsen affirmed his testimony that he did not kill both Zainab and Petra.
He told the court on January 11 that he found the duo dead when he awoke from sleep that morning and tried to revive them.
“I remember that Thursday, 5th of April, 2018 was an Easter vacation day. When I woke up, I was looking for Zainab and Petra from the balcony overlooking the field in the Estate,” Peter added.

Alleluia is the Assistant Editor and Content Writer at LagosPost.ng. She is a prolific writer and editor, she has written features and news stories on Lifestyle, Sports, Business, Politics and B2B marketing. She is also an event coordinator, host and social media content creator.