The Osun State Police Command has summoned the Senator representing Osun East Senatorial District, Francis Fadahunsi, over a controversial remark in which he allegedly urged supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to “kill” members of the Accord Party ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
Fadahunsi’s comments, reportedly made during an APC campaign in Ilesa on Tuesday, August 11, sparked widespread reactions after a video of the address circulated across social media platforms.
In a letter dated August 11 and signed by the Commissioner of Police in charge of elections in Osun State, Samuel Etaifo Erale, the senator was directed to appear before the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Osogbo at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 12.
The police said the invitation was based on information suggesting that Fadahunsi made statements considered “threatening, inciting and intimidating” during the campaign.
The letter stated: “The invitation is premised on information in possession of the Nigeria Police alleging that during your address at the aforementioned programme, you made statements considered to be threatening, inciting and intimidating in nature, and the statement has already been in circulation on various electronic and social media platforms.”
The development comes amid heightened political activities in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
However, Fadahunsi has denied that his statement was intended to encourage violence against members or supporters of the Accord Party.
In a statement issued by his media office in Osogbo, the senator explained that his use of the word “kill” was political and metaphorical, referring to defeating the Accord Party at the polls.
The statement was titled, “Kill Osun Accord with Votes, Not Violence, Senator Fadahunsi Tells APC.”
According to the statement, Fadahunsi was urging APC supporters to reject the Accord Party through lawful and democratic means.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Senator’s statement was purely political and metaphorical,” the media office said.
It added that the remark was “a call on supporters to overwhelmingly reject the Accord Party at the ballot box through lawful, peaceful and democratic means during the August 15 governorship election.”
The senator’s media office further maintained that Fadahunsi “did not call for physical attacks against members or supporters of Accord.”
The police invitation nevertheless places renewed attention on the need for political actors and their supporters to avoid statements capable of escalating tensions ahead of the election.
Fadahunsi is expected to appear before the police in Osogbo to clarify the circumstances surrounding the statement and provide his account of the remarks that have generated controversy across the state.
