The Osun State Police Command has described as a source of “serious concern” the viral video of Senator representing Osun East senatorial district, Francis Fadahunsi, allegedly calling on supporters to “kill” opposition members in Ilesa, a town in the state, before the governorship election slated for Saturday.
The development followed the outrage on social media over his purported comments, instructing All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters to allegedly “kill” members of the rival Accord Party if seen during the electoral process in some parts of the state.
The Osun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, noted that the Police would not support violent public incitement.
“He is a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We are not talking about immunity here. Even people not up to his status, we normally write invitation letters to them. “ If they honour it, fine,” Ojelabi said. “If they don’t, then we go after them.”
“He has been invited, and when he comes, whatever he says will be made available to the public.
The PPRO said that the police had, before now, issued warnings against inciting statements.
“Seeing that video, it calls for serious concern, and that is what led to his invitation. Let him come and tell us what he was trying to say and what he meant by “kill them” in that video.
“Let the speaker come and explain what he meant in the video because I might try to interpret it and might be different from what he meant. But we all heard what he said, and we have a very large community of Yorubas that understood what he said very well.”
The letter, signed by Samuel Etaifo Erale, the Commissioner of Police, Elections in Osun State, ordered Fadahunsi to report to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Osogbo on Wednesday, August 12, at 11:00 am.
“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 reads.
Fadahunsi Reacts, Says Video Was Distorted
In a statement on Tuesday, Fadahunsi debunked the claim as a “deliberate misrepresentation”.
The lawmaker stated he was addressing the “continued killing of APC members” by alleged thugs in Ilesa, maintaining that his party would “defend its people” if the violence persisted.
“The video was deliberately edited to distort what I actually said.
“What I said was that if the alleged killing of our party members by Accord Party thugs does not stop, our party will retaliate. I was referring to the continued violence and attacks against our members in Ilesa and other parts of the state,” Senator Fadahunsi stated.
“My statement was very clear: if the killings do not stop, we shall also retaliate. We are here to lodge complaints and demand justice. It is unacceptable for human beings to kill fellow human beings the way our members are allegedly being killed in Ilesa.
“All those being killed are Nigerians and, indeed, sons and daughters of the same communities. I stated unequivocally that if our party members are killed again, we will not simply fold our arms and watch. We will defend our people, even if such an incident occurs on election day.
“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 added.
Adeleke Demands Arrest Of Lawmaker
Following the viral video, Governor Ademola Adeleke, on Tuesday, requested the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Tunji Disu, to arrest and investigate the lawmaker over a comment credited to him.
Adeleke accused Fadahunsi of inciting violence and “genocide” against members of the Accord Party.
He also requested a thorough investigation to prevent the actualisation of such threats, adding that nobody, no matter how highly placed, should be above the law.
Adeleke, who is seeking re-election under the banner of the Accord Party, has repeatedly accused the APC of deploying thugs to attack and kill his supporters.
In a press conference on Tuesday, he demanded the “immediate arrest” of the lawmaker whose comment he described as a “national security threat”.
“This is now beyond politics. This is now a national security threat that requires the attention of Mr President through the office of the National Security Adviser. I have raised this issue with the IGP and demanded the immediate investigation and arrest of Senator Fadahunsi.
“The IGP has confirmed the video and assured me of immediate action,” Adeleke said.
“We request that the IGP should stop the illegal operations of IRT, a team that has been arresting Accord Party leaders across the local governments for no just reason.
“We ask that the police and the DSS immediately arrest Senator Fadahunsi for his incitement to genocide against the people of Ijesahland and Osun State. This is to prove to the world that Nigeria is a state governed by the rule of law.”
