Inciting comments: Police grill Fadahunsi for nearly two hours

The Osun State Police Command has questioned Senator Francis Fadahunsi, representing Osun East Senatorial District, for nearly two hours over an alleged inciting statement ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.

 

Fadahunsi was invited following a viral video in which he was allegedly heard telling supporters to “kill any Accord member” during a protest at the palace of the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland.

 

The protest followed the alleged killing of 12 All Progressives Congress members in Ilesa within 24 hours, heightening political tension ahead of the poll.

 

Fadahunsi, however, denied making a call for violence, insisting that he said APC supporters should “kill Accord Party in Osun with their votes.” He also alleged that at least 40 APC members had been killed in his district over the past year.

 

The senator arrived at the Osun State Police Command headquarters at about 2:25pm on Tuesday and was taken to the Department of Criminal Investigation, where he was questioned by the Commissioner of Police in charge of election duty, Samuel Etaifo, and other senior officers.

 

Journalists were barred from the investigation room, where Fadahunsi spent about one hour and 57 minutes. He was subsequently taken to the Commissioner of Police’s office for another 20 minutes before returning to the CID.

 

The senator was eventually released at about 4:45pm after being joined by a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Adebayo Adeleke, and a legal practitioner, Edmund Biriomoni.

 

Speaking after his release, Fadahunsi said he honoured the police invitation and clarified his remarks.

 

“I came here to honour the police invitation. We have met and I told them what I said, not the one manipulated by the mischievous interpreters of the Yoruba language,” he said.

 

He added, “What I said was that between now and Saturday, we will kill them with our votes.”

 

Fadahunsi expressed confidence that APC supporters would vote massively for the party’s governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, despite what he described as intimidation by political thugs.

 

Meanwhile, the Imole Campaign Council called on the police to make public the outcome of their investigation and prosecute the senator if found culpable.

 

The council’s spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, said Accord members in Ijesaland had been living in fear since the alleged threat was made.

 

The Presidential Candidate of the Accord Party, Gbenga Hashim, also condemned the remarks and warned political actors against inciting violence ahead of the election.

 

Hashim said incitement to political violence could have international legal consequences and called for Fadahunsi’s arrest and prosecution.

 

Similarly, 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, described the senator’s alleged remarks as “inflammatory” and “threat-laden.”

 

Obi urged Fadahunsi to retract the statement and called on political leaders and supporters across party lines to exercise restraint and uphold democratic values.

 

He also urged Osun voters to remain calm and peacefully exercise their constitutional right to vote on Saturday.