The trial of Peter Nielsen, a 53-year-old Danish man accused of murdering his family in Nigeria, has been adjourned until June 28.

Nielsen stands charged by a Nigerian chief magistrate with the murder of his wife Zainab Ali-Nielsen, a popular singer better known as Alizee, and their three-year-old daughter Petra.

The magistrate court also ordered the continued detention of Nielsen until June 28, when his trial at a high court for the alleged murder of his wife and daughter is due to start. 

“He was brought to court this morning, but no plea was taken. The prosecutors asked for an extension of his detention in Ikoyi Prison pending his trial at the high court,” activist lawyer Christian Kolawole Love told the Nigerian press.

“The request was granted as Mr Nielsen will remain in prison until June 28.”

Domestic outrage
Nielsen was first remanded when he appeared in court on April 11, accused of banging his wife’s head against the wall several times during an argument, causing fatal injuries, and later poisoning his daughter. Police say that he attempted to make the murders look like an accident by moving the bodies near the gas stove and turning the burners on.

Police contend there is overwhelming forensic evidence linking Nielsen to the murders.

The trial has inflamed domestic rights activists throughout Nigeria, and many of them were at the courtroom on Tuesday morning.