Lagos Court Sentences Danish Peter Nielsen To Death By Hanging Over Wife, Daughter’s Death

On Friday, a Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) condemned a Danish man, Peter Nielsen, to death by hanging for murdering his Nigerian wife Zainab and their three-and-a-half-year-old daughter Petra four years ago.


On counts one and two of murder, Justice Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile declared him guilty by a unanimous decision.

At 11:10 a.m., Justice Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile read the verdict.


The judge had scheduled the hearing for Friday, May 6. However, court authorities informed journalists that the judgment was not yet available, and the case was rescheduled for today, May 20.


Justice Okikiolu-Ighile had set May 6 as the date for the judgment after the court heard submissions and adopted the prosecution and defense's final written addresses on March 1, 2022.


On June 13, 2018, Peter Nielsen, 53, was charged with two counts of murder in violation of Section 223 of the Lagos State Criminal Law, 2015.


"I thus pronounce that you Peter Nielsen shall be hanged by the neck till death," the judge said. May God grant you mercy."