Lagos State commences trial of Danish national over murder of wife, daughter

The trial of a Danish national, Peter Nielson, who allegedly murdered his wife and daughter, commenced yesterday before the Lagos High Court, Igbosere, with the prosecution calling its first witness. At the commencement of the trial, the witness Daniel Joel, told the court how the wife of the accused, the late Zainab, had sometime in […]

The trial of a Danish national, Peter Nielson, who allegedly murdered his wife and daughter, commenced yesterday before the Lagos High Court, Igbosere, with the prosecution calling its first witness.

At the commencement of the trial, the witness Daniel Joel, told the court how the wife of the accused, the late Zainab, had sometime in 2017 come to the driver’s lodge around 1am and asked him to invite security men to contain Peter Nielson as he was behaving madly and wanted to kill her.

Joel said that Zainab was holding their daughter, Petra, as she kept banging on the door of the driver’s lodge.

The witness added that when he and his colleague opened the door, the woman showed him wounds on her face that she said her husband had inflicted on her, and was pleading that he call the security men.

He said he thereafter made a call through the intercom to the security men, who came over. Zainab, he added, kept shouting she didn’t want to stay in the house again as the defendant wanted to kill her.

The witness, who was led in evidence by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, Mr Adeniji Kazeem, said he then asked her where she wanted to go at that time of the night so he could assist her, but she replied he shouldn’t worry.

According to Joel, who was a driver to the defendant and his family, after an hour, Zainab came back with policemen to arrest the defendant, whom he said was taken to the Ikoyi police station.

The witness said, “But they all later came back and in the morning, the defendant asked me to drive him back to the police station, after which he asked me to take him to Radisson Blu Hotel in Victoria Island, and then I went back to the house.”

Joel said he was in Kaduna when he learnt of the death of Zainab and her daughter, through one of the security men at Bella Vista Tower in Banana Island named Festus who called him on phone to inform him of what had happened.

During cross examination by the defendant’s counsel, Mr Olasupo Shasore, the witness said that the defendant told him that he was drunk.

He also said he had seen the deceased smoke cigarettes but had never seen him sniff cocaine.

Justice Mobolanle Okikiolu-Ighile adjourned the case till today for continuation of trial, while the defendant was remanded in prison custody.

The defendant was alleged to have murdered his wife, Zainab Nielson 37, and his daughter, Petra Nielson 3, at about 3.45 am at their residence No. 4, Flat, 17, Bella Vista Tower, Banana Island, Ikoyi, on April 5, 2018.