A magistrate court in Yaba on Tuesday adjourned the trial of a Dane, Peter Nielsen, accused of killing his wife, Zainab, also known as Alizee, and their three-year-old daughter, Petra.
The court also ordered the continued detention of Mr. Nielsen, 53, until June 28 when his trial at a high court for the April 5 alleged murder would begin.
Many rights activists under the auspices of Women Arise NGO led by Joe Okei Odumakin besieged the court on Tuesday demanding justice.
At the press conference held after the court hearing, Alizee’s father, Chris Madaki, lamented the supposed preferential treatment of his daughter’s alleged killer.
Mr Nielsen was first remanded in prison when he appeared in court on April 11 as the authorities awaited legal advice from the state director of public prosecution.
The accused has denied culpability in the murder, stating that he woke up to find the bodies in the kitchen and that they could have been suffocated by gas.
Effiong Asuquo, a chief superintendent of police, however, said the accused hit his wife’s head on the wall several times leading to her death and then proceeded to poison his daughter.
Mr. Asuquo, a prosecutor, alleged that the accused killed Alizee and her daughter in the house.
Mr Nielsen allegedly committed the offences on Wednesday at his residence at Block 4, Flat 17, Bella Vista Tower, Banana Island, Ikoyi.
“The accused who was always at loggerheads with his wife had hit her head on the wall several times leading to her death; he also proceeded to poison his daughter.
“He had dragged their lifeless bodies under the gas to create the impression that they suffocated to death as a result of a gas leakage,” the prosecutor said.
Alizee was billed to perform at Harrysong’s ‘Kingmaker Concert’ at the Warri Stadium in May.
A native of Kogi State, Nigeria, she was set to promote her January 2018 single, ‘Alhaji Musa’, before the alleged murder.
The 29-year-old singer signed a two-year record deal with an Asian record label, Petra Entertainment, in 2017.
The deal reportedly earned her a new Ford Explorer SUV, a house on Banana Island and international distribution with affiliates of her record company in Asia.