The case against a Danish man, Peter Nielsen, accused of killing his Nigerian wife and daughter will be heard by the Lagos High Court on May 6 at Tafawa Balewa Square.
After the lawyers in the case adopted their final written addresses, Justice Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile set the date.
The state has charged the defendant with two counts of murder in violation of Section 223 of the Lagos Criminal Laws of 2015.
The state claims that the defendant, who is 53 years old, murdered his Nigerian singer wife, Zainab, also known as Alizee, and his daughter on April 5, 2018, about 3.45 a.m. at their Banana Island home in Lagos’ Ikoyi neighborhood.
The foreigner, on the other hand, entered a not guilty plea to the charge.
The defence lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olasupo Shasore, moved the last written statement during the case’s resumed hearing on Tuesday, asking the court to acquit and dismiss his client.
Shasore filed two problems for the court’s consideration, one of which he claims concerns the defendant’s right to a fair trial.
He highlighted a court decision dated July 19, 2021, in which the judge denied an appeal to have Peter Nielsen, the man suspected of killing his Nigerian wife and daughter, removed from the murder trial.
Shasore had asked the court for the production of an exhibit, the nightgown the deceased wore the night she was killed, in that application. He requested that the exhibit be made available for DNA testing.
Shasore further claimed that he had requested a search of the court’s records, but that the exhibit could not be retrieved owing to the court’s burning on October 21, 2020, during the #ENDSARS saga.
He argued at the time that because the exhibit was missing, the defendant would not receive substantial justice in the absence of the exhibit.
“We had no idea that exhibit PWN would not be found when we submitted our application.” The defendant’s constitutional rights have been violated in the absence of exhibit PWN. “In addition, the court has been denied the opportunity to analyze PWN,” the SAN added.
“The DNA analysis was generated from this PWN, which is the nightgown the deceased was wearing at the time of her death. “In his testimony, the prosecution’s expert witness relied his whole evidence on PWN,” Shasore added.
The submission, albeit clever, was deemed premature by Justice Okikiolu-Ighile.
The judge ruled that both the prosecution and the defense had called witnesses and presented exhibits that were not based on the exhibit in question.
“As a result, when all of the information has been presented and final written addresses have been accepted, the court will examine the totality of all of the material before it.”
The judge ruled that “the submission of the learned silk is premature,” and that “the application sought and the concomitant remedies are hereby dismissed.”
The SAN remarked that the presumption that there was an eye witness, the second objection presented by the defense counsel, was a critical point.
“We submit that there was no eye witness,” he added. “The so-called eye witness indicated she was behind the children’s door, which is nearly impossible to see the Master’s bedroom from behind the children’s door.”
“We encourage your Lordship to consider all of the defense’s submissions on all of the state’s evidence that was not produced, as well as the DNA testing that was obtained but not produced.”
He insisted, “We have a reasonable doubt in favor of the defendant’s innocence.”
“I encourage the court to accept our position, and your Lordship should acquit and dismiss the offender after four years in custody so that he can properly mourn his wife and daughter.”
“We have reacted to all the issues brought by the defense, including the two points highlighted by the learned senior counsel, the eye witness PW6 and the circumstantial evidence placed before your Lordship,” Adebayo Haroun, the Lagos State Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, said in his response.
“The prosecution has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Peter Nielsen killed Zainab Nielsen and Petra Nielsen on April 5, 2018.” “My Lordship, we have nothing further to add to the final written address; we urge your Lordship to find the defendant guilty as charged,” he said.
The court was then delayed until May 6.
