Deceased Accused Danish Of Plotting To Kill Her, Before She Was Murdered, Witness Tells Court
A prosecution witness in the on- going trial of a Danish citizen, Peter Nielsen, who was accused of murdering his wife Zainab, and his three-year-old daughter, on Monday told a Lagos State High Court sitting in Igbosere that the deceased had on many occasions accused the foreigner of attempting to kill her.
The witness, Daniel Joel, a driver to the defendant and his family, told the trial judge, Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile, that the late Zainab Nielson before her death eventually came to the driver’s lodge around 1am, sometime in 2017, and asked him to call the security men at Bella Vista gate, to come and restrain her husband because he was mad and wanted to kill her.
The Lagos State government is prosecuting Nielsen on a two count charge of murder contrary to Section 223 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2015.
The state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Adeniji Kazeem who led the prosecution team had told the court that the defendant aged 53 allegedly killed his wife and daughter on the 5th of April, 2018 at about 3.45am at their Banana Island Residence in the Ikoyi area of Lagos.
The foreigner, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
In his testimony on Monday, Joel claimed that, on the day, late Zainab, who was holding their daughter Petra, kept banging on the door of the driver’s lodge and that it was one of his colleague who woke him up that his madam Zainab, was knocking at the door.
The witness also said that after he opened the door, the deceased showed him the wounds on her face and asked him to call the security men.
He further stated that he put a call through the inter-come to the security men at gate of the estate, who responded and that while they were in the house, Zainab told them that the defendant wanted to kill her and that she does not feel safe in the house.
Joel also testified that when he, however, asked her where she wanted to go to at that time of the night, so that he can drop her off, she asked him not worry and then go back into the house to sleep.
He maintained that before the morning the deceased invited the police who arrested the defendant and after which he was taken to Ikoyi Police Station.
Joel said, ” After the defendant was released, he asked me to take him to Radisson Blu Hotel in Victoria Island, and then I went back to the house.
“While I was at home Mrs Zainab said that the children were writing exams and that I should get ready that after their exams I would take them to the Airport.
“Some days later, I took them to the Airport, where they boarded a flight to Abuja.
“On our way, to the airport Mrs Zainab said that it was because of fear of their safety that they are going to Abuja.
“After they left, the defendant called me and asked me to come and pick him from the hotel back home but a day later, he asked me to take him to the airport which I did, the witness said.”
Joel claimed that he got to know about the death of Zainab and her daughter through a phone call from a friend, while he was in Kaduna.
During cross examination by the defendant’s counsel, Olasupo Shasore (SAN) the witness said that the defendant told him that he was drunk.
He also said that he had never seen the deceased smoke cigarettes and that he had never seen Cocaine before or seen the defendant take Cocaine before.
When asked if he could describe the relationship between the deceased and the defendant, he said that he does not know anything about their relationship.
When asked by the lawyer how he got information about the death of the deceased, he said that one of the security men at Bella Vista Tower, in Banana Island, named Festus called him and told him what had happened.
He said, “Festus said I want to tell you about a sad news, he told me that my madam was dead, but did not tell me how she died, when I received the call, I couldn’t believe what Festus told me.
“After receiving series of calls about the death of my madam, I took a taxi to Abuja from Kaduna, and then a flight to Lagos, I got to Bella Vista around 2pm and saw ambulance, taking Zainab to the hospital, I then took an Okada to the hospital and met the deceased’s mother Mrs Ruth Madaki there.”
Earlier, the defence counsel had brought two applications before the court, seeking an order on the prosecution to release medical samples taken from the deceased, to enable them conduct a DNA test.
The second application urged the court to grant the defence access to the crime sense as it was under lock and key.
The two applications were granted by the judge.
Further hearing in the case was fixed for October 9.