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As Senator, House of Reps Candidate Say They Must Not See Accord Members
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Osun Residents Vow to Resist Intimidation
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Police Summon Senator Fadahunsi
- Safiu Kehinde
What began as warning signs and growing concerns are gradually taking full form with daring and life-threatening statements as fear of violence escalates in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had on the 30th of May 2025 announced date for the 2026 Osun Gubernatorial Election.
Amid preparations for the election was also the trickling smoke of political violence which had over the past months spread across the state.
Clashes between suspected hoodlums linked to the All Progressives Congress and Accord Party have resulted to deaths over ten people across the state. Some other people have said more than 26 people have been killed in campaign related violence in different parts of the state.
Coupled with these murders were disruption of campaign rallies with several party members injured. These amongst others had widely been considered signs of imminent political violence on election day.
Despite the signing of a Peace Accord on the 31st of July by all political parties involved in the forthcoming election, the conduct of the August 15 election however tend to be threading a violent path as the warning signs have now escalated into a full-blown open threat to life of voters with barely less than four days to go.
The final open threats started yesterday with a viral video capturing moment Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi, the lawmaker representing Osun East Senatorial District, charged supporters of the APC in Ilesa and its environs to kill any Accord Party member they spot between now till the end of the election.
Fadahunsi had in the video accused Accord Party members of being responsible for the political violence in the state, alleging that all the victims killed in the attacks were members of the APC.
Unbothered with being recorded, Fadahunsi charged the APC supporters to retaliate by eliminating any member of the Accord Party they see till the end of the election.
‘If we hear of any Accord in Ilesa… How many people have you heard were killed by APC.
‘Are those murdered victims not our people. We are here to tell you that until the day of election, kill them anywhere you see them.’ He said.
This had since attracted backlash from members of the public, forcing the lawmaker to recant his statement.
In a separate statement issued by his media office, Fadahunsi claimed to have been misinterpreted, stressing that he only charged the APC supporters to kill Accord with their votes.
However, the lawmaker had since been summoned by the Osun State Police Command hours after the state governor, Ademola Adeleke, called the attention of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to the threat, accusing Fadahunsi of inciting genocide in the state.
Meanwhile, amid public outrage over the senator’s controversial statement, another APC chieftain joined the controversy with a video of him warning members of other political parties against coming out to vote at Odo-Otin area of the state.
Damilare Eniade, the APC’s House of Representative candidate for Boripe/ Ifelodun/ Odo-Otin Federal Constituency, gave the warning while addressing a crowd of the party supporters.
Speaking in Yoruba, Eniade held that Odo-Otin belongs to the APC as he warned members of other parties, including the Osun House of Assembly Speaker, Adewale Egbedun, who hails from Odo-Otin, to avoid going to their polling unit.
‘I swear to God, anybody who is not APC should not come outside that day. I’m pleading with them not to come out. We’ve warned you now. All polling units in Odo-Otin belongs to APC.
‘Tell Egbedun that I don’t have his time. He is a small boy to me. I’m his big brother.
‘We are going to do this based on father-son affairs. Egbedun won’t come out to vote. Accord Party cannot come out to vote.’ He said.
The APC candidate’s threat had also sparked outrage and concerns over imminent violence at the election.
Despite assurances by INEC and the Nigeria Police Force on peaceful conduct of the poll, the latest uprising of threats by political actors is already portraying a gory picture of imminent violence at the governorship election.