Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A political storm that threatened to engulf the final days of Osun State's governorship campaign took a dramatic turn on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, as Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi moved to clarify a viral video that showed him apparently calling on supporters to "kill" members of the Accord Party. The senator, who represents Osun East Senatorial District and serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Industries, insisted that his words were a political metaphor urging All Progressives Congress supporters to defeat the Accord Party at the ballot box, not a call for physical violence. But his explanation did little to calm the controversy, as Governor Ademola Adeleke's campaign demanded his arrest, and the Osun State Police Command officially summoned him for questioning.
The video, which surfaced on social media on Tuesday morning, showed Fadahunsi addressing APC supporters in Ilesa in Yoruba. In the footage, he was heard accusing members of the Accord Party of attacking APC supporters and appeared to urge those at the gathering to confront Accord supporters wherever they were found. The clip was widely shared, with Afrobeats superstar Davido – a nephew of Governor Adeleke – providing an English translation that amplified the senator's controversial remarks. The singer condemned the comments and called for international attention to the escalating political violence in Osun State.
But Fadahunsi, in a statement issued by his media office in Osogbo on Tuesday and titled "Kill Osun Accord with Votes, Not Violence, Senator Fadahunsi Tells APC," rejected any interpretation of his words as an endorsement of violence. "For the avoidance of doubt, the Senator's statement was purely political and metaphorical," the statement read. "At no point did Senator Fadahunsi advocate violence, intimidation or any form of physical attack against members or supporters of the Accord Party or any other political party. His consistent position has always been that elections should be decided by the votes of the people and not by force".
The senator also accused those who circulated the video of deliberately editing his remarks to create a misleading impression. He told Channels Television's Politics Today that a speech lasting about 24 minutes had been reduced to less than two minutes before being circulated on social media. "Unfortunately, Davido and Olajengbesi took less than two minutes from a speech that lasted about 24 minutes and circulated it to achieve cheap political objectives. This is a clear case of deliberate misrepresentation and manipulation," he alleged. Fadahunsi maintained that his remarks were made in response to reports of attacks and killings involving political supporters, insisting that his primary concern was the safety of APC members. "My statement was very clear: if the killings do not stop, we shall also retaliate. We are here to lodge complaints and demand justice," he said.
The clarification, however, failed to appease the Imole Campaign Council, the organisation coordinating Governor Adeleke's re-election bid. In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its Chairman of Media and Publicity, Bamidele Salam, the council called for Fadahunsi's immediate arrest and prosecution. The council described the video as "gravely alarming and disturbing" and alleged that the senator was heard calling on APC members to attack Accord supporters wherever they were found in Ijeshaland. It also claimed that the video corroborated intelligence about the importation of thugs, hoodlums and fake policemen into Ilase, the senator's hometown, and other parts of Ijeshaland. "We feel compelled to demand that the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the Department of State Services order the arrest of Senator Fadahunsi and prosecute him in accordance with relevant laws of the Federation," the council said.
The council further alleged that an aide of Fadahunsi, identified as ASP Wemimo, had led Intelligence Response Team personnel to the homes of Accord leaders in Ijeshaland in recent weeks, and that the party's House of Representatives candidate, Alaba Popoola, remained in police custody after being arrested on the senator's instructions. The council vowed to hold Fadahunsi accountable for any violence against Accord members and urged residents to remain peaceful while exercising their right to vote in Saturday's election.
The controversy quickly escalated beyond the state. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress for the 2027 election, condemned the senator's remarks and called on him to retract the statement and apologise to the people of Osun State. Obi described the comments as "alarming and unacceptable" and urged Fadahunsi to withdraw what he called a "harmful" statement. Governor Ademola Adeleke also formally requested that the Inspector-General of Police investigate the viral clip, accusing Fadahunsi of inciting violence and "genocide" against members of the Accord Party.
The Osun State Police Command moved swiftly. In a letter dated August 11, 2026, the police invited Fadahunsi to "clarify the circumstances" surrounding his statements. The letter, signed by Commissioner of Police Elections in Osun State, Samuel Etaifo Erale, ordered the senator to report to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Osogbo on Wednesday, August 12, at 11:00 a.m.. "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 document read.
As the clock ticks down to Saturday's governorship election, the controversy surrounding Senator Fadahunsi's remarks has heightened tensions in Osun State. The senator's insistence that he was speaking metaphorically, and his allegations of deliberate misrepresentation, have done little to quell the outrage. Whether the police investigation will lead to charges or whether the matter will be resolved as a political misunderstanding remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: in the final days of a fiercely contested election, words matter, and the line between political rhetoric and incitement can be perilously thin.
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