The Court of Appeal in Lagos has dismissed the appeal of Danish national Peter Nielsen, who was sentenced to death for the murder of his Nigerian wife Zainab and daughter Petra Nielsen.

The court affirmed Nielsen’s conviction by the trial court and dismissed his appeal for lack of merit.

When the case was called for hearing on Friday, Mr Adebayo Haroun, leading Jubril Kareem, announced that he would appear on behalf of the respondent, while Mr AD Taiwo Nsirim with Tochukwu Amaefule appeared on behalf of the appellant.

In delivering judgment, the Court of Appeal held that the defendant (Lagos State) had proven the offence of murder against the appellant beyond reasonable doubt.

The Court ruled in favour of the defendant on appeal and dismissed the appellant’s claim.

The court held: “The supporting DNA evidence also strengthened the circumstantial evidence against the appellant.

“There was no evidence of forced entry into the apartment, as the appellant alleged.

“The missing evidence as a result of the #EndSARS attack on the court does not affect the appellant’s defence as he had ample opportunity before the attack on the court. The findings of the forensic examiner corroborate the evidence of the children.”

Nielsen was found guilty of the murder of Zainab and Petra by Justice Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile (retired) of the Lagos State High Court, at Tafawa Balewa Square.

Okikiolu-Ighile ruled in her May 20, 2022 verdict that Nielsen had strangled Zainab and Petra Nielsen to death.

She ruled: “He was the one who killed Zainab and Petra Nielsen. Zainab had already predicted her death when she told their driver that this man would kill her. She told her stepfather, Chris Madaki, when she went to Abuja that this man would kill her.”

The judge also found that the evidence of the sixth prosecution witness (PW6) that she saw Peter Nielsen punch Zainab on the head and knock him to the ground at 4:10 am on 5 April 2018 was consistent with the oral evidence of Professor John Obafunwa (PW4).

The judge ruled: “The court finds that you, Peter Nielsen, are guilty of the murder of Zainab and Petra Nielsen on April 5, 2018.

“I hereby declare that you, Peter Nielsen, will be hung by your neck until death. May God have mercy on you,” she said.

Justice Okikiolu-Ighile found him guilty of charges one and two of murder brought against him by Lagos State.

She argued that the oral and written evidence before the court showed that the prosecution had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Nielsen had murdered his wife and daughter.

“This is one of the cases of domestic violence. The DNA analysis of the nail scraping brought forward Zainab’s attacker.

“Zainab tried to defend herself as best she could. The evidence shows that Peter Nielsen murdered his wife and daughter.

“There is evidence before the court that there was a fight between Peter Nielsen and his wife,” the judge ruled.

She stated that prosecution witnesses (PW5 and PW6) stated that they had heard Zainab Mimi (one of the girls who lived with the couple) calling for help and that they had heard Zainab Nielsen say that he had to check her phone, but that he kept hitting her on the head.

“Nielsen’s act shows that he strangled his wife and daughter.

“Nielsen has always domestically abused his wife, as evident from the police extract from the Ikoyi police station.

“She did not know that her marriage to the convict was immediately null and void, because Peter was already married in Denmark.

However, as for the nightgown Zainab was wearing on the night of her death, the judge destroyed all evidence.

She said the pathologist who analyzed the DNA on the nightgown had been thoroughly examined and questioned by the defense.

The judge, however, said that on October 20, 2020, the Lagos High Court was vandalized and set ablaze during the #EndSARS protest, damaging Zainab and Petra’s nightgown, a jumpsuit, a towel and a pair of trousers.

However, the judge said the convict did not want to be cross-examined but wanted to take the items for DNA testing to help his case.

“It is an established fact that all evidence must be carefully examined, but the defense argued that the convicted person was not given the opportunity to present his evidence.

“The defense has filed a motion to have such items suppressed from evidence.

“I have considered the application and the evidence. PWN (Zainab’s nightgown, Petra’s jumpsuit, towel and trousers) has been deleted,” she said.

However, Nielsen was not satisfied with the verdict and went to court to challenge his conviction.

Nielsen was charged on June 13, 2018, with two counts of murder.

He pleaded not guilty to the two counts of murder, contrary to Section 223 of the Lagos State Penal Code of 2015, after which the trial began.

The Lagos State Government accused Nielsen, now 57, of strangling Zainab and their daughter Petra Nielsen to death at about 3:45 am on April 5, 2018, at No. 4, Flat 17, Bella Vista Tower, Banana Island, Ikoyi.

When the trial started, the Public Prosecution Service called nine witnesses and closed the case on September 20, 2019.

The defense opened its case and also called nine witnesses with the

convicted as the ninth witness.