Amnesty International has called on the authorities to hold the senator representing Osun East in the National Assembly, Francis Fadahunsi, accountable for allegedly “instructing his supporters to kill members of the Accord Party ahead of the state’s August 15 governorship election”.
The human rights group, in a post on its X handle, described the remarks of the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker as “deliberate and solely aimed at inciting a bloody poll in Osun State”.
“Amnesty International strongly condemns Francis Fadahunsi (APC) — senator representing the Osun East senatorial district, who was on video during campaign, instructing his supporters to kill members of the Accord Party ahead of the state’s August 15 governorship election.
“Senator Fadahunsi’s reckless remarks were deliberate and solely aimed at inciting a bloody poll in Osun state,” it stated.
The organisation also said that Nigerian authorities have an obligation to prohibit advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to hostility, discrimination or violence.
“The authorities must urgently denounce any statements, live, online or otherwise, which advocate violence.
“Senator Fadahunsi must be held accountable,” it added.
Amnesty International’s call follows a viral video in which Fadahunsi was alleged to have directed his supporters to exhibit behaviour against members of the Accord Party, which has incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke as its governorship candidate.
Governor Adeleke, at a press conference on Tuesday, accused Fadahunsi of inciting violence and “genocide” against members of the Accord Party, demanding a thorough investigation to prevent the actualisation of such threats.
He also 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.”
But Fadahunsi dismissed claims of inciting violence, stating that he was addressing the “continued killing of APC members” by alleged thugs in Ilesa, and 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,” he added.
Police invite Fadahunsi over video
Meanwhile, 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.
While appearing on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, 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 police had in a letter dated August 11, 2026, invited the senator to “clarify the circumstances” surrounding the statements allegedly made during an APC campaign in Ilesa on Tuesday.
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.