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Osun East Senator Francis Fadahunsi has asserted that a widely circulated video clip depicting him purportedly instructing loyalists to target and eliminate members of the Accord Party alongside their relatives was manipulated to distort his original message.
Fadahunsi made these remarks on Wednesday following an interrogation session with operatives at the Osun State Police Command headquarters situated in Osogbo.
Addressing newsmen subsequent to a private session with investigators at the command’s Criminal Investigation Department, the federal lawmaker clarified that his statement denoted utilizing ballots to politically overwhelm the Accord Party during the August 15 governorship contest, rather than advocating any form of physical violence against opponents or their households.
“Well, we have met, and I have told them what I said, not the one manipulated by mischievous interpreters of our language. I am a Yoruba man. If an Igbo or Hausa woman is interpreting Yoruba to me, Yoruba means many things. We said, come Saturday, election, we will kill them with our votes. Go and look at the video; it is almost 38 minutes.
“A mischievous man, I don’t know where it comes from, whether it’s on drug or where, misinterpreted from somebody’s blog. So, we’ll wait until after this to see what we can do legally to search,” Fadahunsi explained.
Furthermore, he voiced apprehension regarding recent homicides recorded within his senatorial district, claiming those assaults were orchestrated to deter electors from participating and voting for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming ballot.
Fadahunsi maintained that his address centered on condemning the persistent targeting and killing of APC adherents by suspected political thugs across Ilesa and neighboring districts within the territory.
The politician had earlier reported to the Osun State Police Command headquarters approximately at 2:35 p.m., accompanied by the Commissioner of Police assigned to oversee electoral security, Samuel Erale.
This police summons arose in the wake of an online video wherein Fadahunsi, communicating in the Yoruba dialect, was accused of urging supporters to exterminate Accord Party affiliates and their families.
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke had earlier on Tuesday accused Fadahunsi of promoting violence and instigating atrocities against followers of the Accord Party, whose gubernatorial flagbearer is the sitting governor himself.
Adeleke pressed for a comprehensive inquiry while urging the prompt apprehension of the parliamentarian, branding the contested comments as a grave danger to national stability.
Concurrently, Amnesty International on Wednesday urged state authorities to prosecute Fadahunsi for supposedly directing followers to perpetrate violence against Accord Party loyalists ahead of the August 15 state election.
Via an official statement published on its social media profile on X, the human rights organization characterized the remarks attributed to the opposition lawmaker as a calculated attempt to provoke bloodshed during the Osun electoral exercise.
“The authorities must urgently denounce any statements, live, online or otherwise, which advocate violence.
“Senator Fadahunsi must be held accountable,” the organization emphasized.
Responding to inquiries, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Aniete Iniedu Okokon, confirmed that authorities had questioned Fadahunsi and noted that inquiries into the incident remain active.
He added that findings from the probe will be publicly disclosed once finalized.
Okokon additionally reassured local inhabitants that Osun State maintains a secure environment, highlighting that comprehensive security protocols have been deployed to safeguard electors and electoral personnel throughout Saturday’s gubernatorial ballot.
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