Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State, the senator representing Osun East Senatorial District, Francis Fadahunsi, was on Wednesday grilled for over two hours by the police over a viral video where he allegedly directed his supporters to kill members of the Accord in Ilesa.
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This is as the spokesman for Ademola Adeleke campaign council, Pelumi Olajengbesi, threatened a N10bn defamation suit against the lawmaker, while the Peoples Democratic Party, the National Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International, and the Accord condemned the alleged inciting remarks and demanded his immediate prosecution.
Fadahunsi, accompanied by his aides and chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, arrived at the Osun State Police Command headquarters in Osogbo at about 2:25 pm.
He was directed to the Criminal Investigation Department, where he was interrogated by the Commissioner of Police for the election, Samuel Etaifo, in the presence of his counsel, Edmund Biriomoni.
The lawmaker, who left the command at about 4:56 pm after meeting briefly with the state Commissioner of Police, denied inciting violence while addressing journalists outside the premises.
He claimed his remarks were misconstrued by “mischievous interpreters” of the Yoruba language, explaining that he meant the party would “kill them with votes” on Saturday.
“I came here to honour the police invitation. We have met, and I told them what I said, not the one manipulated by mischievous interpreters. What I said was that between now and Saturday, we will kill them with our votes,” Fadahunsi stated.
Countering Adeleke’s call for his arrest, the senator accused the state government of failing to curb political violence, alleging that over 30 APC members had been killed in Osun East within the last year to destabilise the party’s stronghold.
However, the state police command, through a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, stated that the invitation was a proactive measure aimed at lowering political tension and clarifying utterances capable of inciting public disturbance.
In a related development, Olajengbesi, through his counsel, Hammed Lasisi, issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Fadahunsi to retract alleged defamatory remarks made during recent live television broadcasts or face a N10bn suit.
Olajengbesi accused the senator of false claims made on Viable TV on July 2, 2026, and Channels Television’s Politics Today on August 11, 2026, where Fadahunsi allegedly linked him to cult groups, specifically the Eiye and Aye confraternities, and accused him of sponsoring political thuggery in Ijesaland.
The letter read, “These statements directly questioned our client’s identity and origin… and more gravely, imputed that he sponsors, associates with, and/or deploys thugs and members of cult groups in furtherance of his political activities.
“If you fail to publish an unreserved public apology across national and social media platforms within 24 hours, we will approach the court to compel you to pay N10,000,000,000 as general and aggravated damages.”
The controversial remarks have drawn widespread condemnation from political parties, human rights bodies, and civil society groups.
Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, disclosed on Wednesday that his legal team had formally petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, over alleged death threats issued against non-APC members by Fadahunsi and the APC candidate for the Ifelodun/Boripe/Odo Otin Federal Constituency, Francis Eniade.
In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of its Interim National Working Committee, Ini Ememobong, the PDP expressed shock over the video, describing the remarks as uncivilised, warlike, and unacceptable in a democratic setting.
While Amnesty International called for the senator to be held accountable over what it described as alleged incitement to violence, the NHRC demanded his immediate suspension and arrest, saying the remarks amounted to incitement to murder, electoral violence and voter intimidation.
According to the NHRC, Fadahunsi allegedly instructed his supporters to kill members of the Accord whenever they encountered them and warned that members of the party should not be allowed to vote, even if they possessed valid voter cards.
The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Chief Tony Ojukwu (SAN), described the alleged remarks as “a licence to kill” and called for urgent action by the authorities.
“This is not politics. This is a licence to kill. A public officer who tells citizens to murder other citizens because of party affiliation must not be allowed to remain in office for one more day,” Ojukwu said.
The NHRC called on the leadership of the Senate to suspend Fadahunsi immediately pending investigation, while urging the police and the Department of State Services to arrest, investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute him in accordance with the law.
Similarly, Amnesty International said the senator’s alleged comments were reckless and deliberate, warning that authorities had an obligation to prevent and punish advocacy of hatred that constituted incitement to hostility, discrimination or violence.
The human rights organisation urged the Nigerian authorities to urgently denounce statements made publicly, online or through other platforms that advocate violence.
“Senator Fadahunsi must be held accountable,” Amnesty said, stressing the need for the authorities to take the alleged incitement seriously.
Amnesty also expressed concern over what it described as disturbing signs of violence, intimidation and allegations of interference ahead of the Osun governorship election.
It urged the government to fulfil its obligations to promote, protect, respect and fulfil human rights throughout the electoral process and take urgent steps to prevent violence.
The Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, warned that inviting the lawmaker must not be a “performative publicity stunt,” insisting that Fadahunsi must be prosecuted to prevent setting a dangerous precedent.
“Refusing to bring him to justice will send the wrong message that members of the ruling party are above the law,” Sanusi warned.
Meanwhile, the Accord has written to the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Migot, seeking diplomatic intervention over alleged state-sponsored intimidation, selective freeze of government accounts by anti-graft agencies, and the arrest of over 60 of its members across Abuja and Nasarawa State.
The party’s National Chairman, Maxwell Mgbudem, noted that at least 29 lives had been lost in election-related violence in Osun State, urging international bodies to deploy preventive diplomacy before the polls.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, and the Coalition of United Political Parties have also called on President Bola Tinubu, security agencies, and the Independent National Electoral Commission to guarantee a peaceful, transparent, and credible election on Saturday.
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