A Lagos High Court sitting at Igbosere, heard on Monday that a Danish national, Peter Nielsen, was the principal suspect in the killing of his Nigerian wife, Zainab, and their three-year-old daughter, Petra.
A police inspector, Babashola Afolayan, said this at the resumed hearing in the murder of the two.
Nielsen, 53, allegedly murdered his wife and daughter at the family’s residence at the Ocean Parade, Banana Island, Lagos, on April 5, 2018.
Zainab’s younger sister, 13-year-old, Gift, who lived with them had reported to the facility manager of the estate, Mr Kunle Kukoyi that Zainab was being assaulted by Nielsen and that she heard her crying around 4am.
The manager was said to have reported to the police at the Ikoyi Division, which dispatched a team of policemen to the couple’s residence around 11am and found Zainab and her daughter dead.
At the resumed proceedings on Monday, before Justice Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile, Afolayan said that he only investigated the defendant as he was the principal suspect in the murder of the deceased.
The police officer, who being cross-examined by Nielsen’s counsel, Olasupo Shasor, SAN, also said that the defendant was the only suspect because on July 18, 2017, his late wife, Zainab, had come to the Ikoyi Police Station around 2am to lodge a report against Nielsen for allegedly assaulting and beating her up around 1am on the same day.
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“On July 18, 2017, the defendant’s wife came around 2am and complained about the defendant that around 1am, he pushed her to the bed and pressed her neck and beat her up; it was a case of assault occasioning harm against the defendant. She further reported that that day was the third time he would be beating her.
“She also added that she suspected that Nielsen was a drug addict, stating that whenever he took drugs, he beat her up; all these made him (Nielsen) to be the principal suspect,” he said.
Hearing in the case continues on February 20.
