Appeals Court Upholds Death Sentence for Danish Man Over Murder of Nigerian Wife and Daughter
By Omowumi Omotosho
The Lagos Court of Appeal has affirmed the death sentence of a Danish man, Peter Nielsen, convicted of murdering his wife and daughter.
In the ruling delivered on Friday, the appellate court rejected Nielsen’s appeal for lack of merit.
The court declared that the Lagos state prosecution had successfully proven the murder charges against Nielsen.
The court noted that the appellant’s defense was not compromised by the “missing exhibits resulting from the EndSARS attack on the court”.
Nielsen was on June 13, 2018 arraigned before the Lagos High Court on two counts charge of murder, in violation of Section 223 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos 2015. Nielsen pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Nielsen was accused of killing his wife, Zainab, also known as Alizee, and their three-year-old daughter on April 5, 2018, at their residence on Banana Island, Lagos.
During the trial, Nielsen testified that he awoke at 2:30 am on April 5, 2018, to get snacks and drinks for his wife and daughter before returning to bed.
He stated that when he woke up again at 7:30 am and did not find his wife in bed, he began searching for her.
Nielsen further testified that he discovered his wife and daughter in the kitchen, where he detected a strong smell of gas.
He claimed he moved his wife to the living room and instructed one of the girls living with them to carry his daughter, then covered both with blankets after realizing they were dead.
In 2022, trial judge Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile found Nielsen guilty of murder and sentenced him to death by hanging.
