APC Senator Francis Fadahunsi of Osun East has denied inciting violence after the Osun State Police questioned him over a campaign rally video in which he urged supporters to “kill them with our votes” ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
Fadahunsi honored a police invitation on Wednesday, presenting investigators with his explanation of the phrase that had drawn widespread condemnation from political figures, including Governor Ademola Adeleke and former presidential candidate Peter Obi.
The senator told investigators the expression was a Yoruba metaphor for ballot-box victory, not a call for physical harm against any person or group. He maintained that the phrase, spoken in Yoruba during the rally, carried figurative meaning consistent with political campaigning and was understood as such by those present at the event.
Fadahunsi accused others of deliberately twisting his words, saying critics had misrepresented the Yoruba expression to suggest he was encouraging supporters to commit acts of violence against political opponents before the election. He argued that the misrepresentation was politically motivated.
His team had earlier issued a clarification titled “Kill Osun Accord with Votes, Not Violence,” arguing the senator’s address directed supporters to defeat the Accord Party at the ballot box through legitimate democratic participation, not through physical confrontation.
Governor Adeleke condemned the remarks as incendiary, demanding action against the lawmaker before Saturday’s poll. Adeleke stated the comments, as he interpreted them, constituted a direct threat against members of the Accord Party, which he leads into the gubernatorial contest.
Peter Obi also condemned the statement attributed to Fadahunsi, describing it as deeply concerning and calling on the senator to retract the remarks. Obi stated the comments carried the potential to worsen political tension across Osun State ahead of the election.
Both Adeleke and Obi characterized the statement as irresponsible language from an elected federal lawmaker at a sensitive moment in the electoral calendar, with voters scheduled to go to the polls on Saturday.
Fadahunsi rejected those characterizations entirely. He told investigators and reporters that persons unfamiliar with the Yoruba language had translated his remarks incorrectly and that a proper understanding of the speech would show no incitement to violence.
The police released the senator after he provided his clarification to investigators. No charges were announced against him following the questioning session, and the command made no public statement on further action.
Fadahunsi disclosed plans to pursue legal action over what he described as the deliberate manipulation of his words. He stated that those responsible for misrepresenting his speech would face legal consequences for the damage caused to his reputation.
The senator stated his address was made during a campaign rally ahead of the Osun governorship election, a contest with high political stakes that has seen tensions rise between the APC and the Accord Party in the days leading to the poll. Both parties have been engaged in an increasingly competitive campaign across the state.
The video of the rally circulated widely on social media platforms and triggered the police invitation. The remarks, delivered in Yoruba, became the subject of competing interpretations between the senator’s camp and his critics within the state’s political environment.
Fadahunsi, who represents Osun East in the National Assembly, said he remained committed to a peaceful electoral process and expressed confidence that APC supporters would express their preferences through the ballot on Saturday, the election day.
The statement was measured in tone, reflecting an awareness that inflammatory language in the days before a governorship election carries consequences that extend beyond any single candidate or party. His emphasis on the ballot as the proper channel for political expression was, in context, also a repudiation of the conduct attributed to him in the circulating recording.
The Osun governorship election, scheduled for Saturday, August 15, 2026, pits the APC against the Accord Party in a contest that has drawn national attention well beyond the state’s borders. The race has attracted scrutiny from political observers who regard it as a bellwether for the broader alignment of forces ahead of future electoral cycles.
Fadahunsi’s denial and planned legal action over the alleged manipulation of his words remain the central points of his public position, and how that dispute resolves itself in the days following the election may shape the narrative around the result as much as the vote count itself.
