The Osun East senator is expected at the State Criminal Investigation Department as the police investigate comments made ahead of Saturday’s governorship election

The Osun State Police Command has summoned Senator Francis Fadahunsi, representing Osun East Senatorial District, to explain a viral comment in which he appeared to call for the killing of Accord Party members ahead of the state’s August 15 governorship election.

Also read: Adeleke campaign demands probe into Fadahunsi video

The invitation, dated August 11, 2026, was issued by Samuel Etaifo Erale, the Commissioner of Police responsible for elections in Osun State, directing Fadahunsi to report to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Osogbo at 11am on Wednesday, August 12.

The police said the senator was being asked to clarify the circumstances surrounding remarks allegedly made during an All Progressives Congress campaign event in Ilesa on Tuesday.

According to the invitation, the comments were considered potentially “threatening, inciting and intimidating” and had circulated widely across electronic and social media platforms.

The summons followed a strong public reaction to a video in which Fadahunsi, speaking in Yoruba, appeared to tell APC supporters to kill members of the rival Accord Party if they encountered them.

The remarks generated concern because they came just days before voters are due to elect a governor in Osun, where political competition has intensified ahead of Saturday’s poll.

Fadahunsi has since sought to clarify the statement, saying his words were not intended as a literal call for violence.

His team said the senator meant that supporters should politically “kill” Accord at the ballot box by overwhelmingly voting against the party.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Senator’s statement was purely political and metaphorical,” his team said in a statement titled “Kill Osun Accord with Votes, Not Violence”. (Punch Newspapers)

That explanation has not, however, prevented the police from seeking an account of the original remarks as part of their preparations for the election.

The summons comes against a particularly sensitive political backdrop in Osun. Governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election under the Accord platform, has repeatedly raised concerns about alleged attacks and intimidation involving political supporters.

The governor’s camp has also called for the investigation and arrest of Fadahunsi over the remarks, describing them as a serious security concern rather than ordinary campaign rhetoric.

The APC and its supporters, meanwhile, have been campaigning for Bola Oyebamiji as the party’s candidate in the August 15 contest, setting up a closely watched confrontation with Adeleke and other contenders.

The police intervention adds another layer of tension to an election in which political parties have been urged to maintain peaceful campaigns and avoid language capable of provoking supporters.

For Fadahunsi, the immediate issue is now both political and legal. The senator’s explanation that he was speaking metaphorically will form part of the circumstances the police are seeking to establish.

The command has not announced any arrest or criminal charge against him. The summons is an investigative step, and any decision on further action will depend on the outcome of the police inquiry.

With voting only days away, the episode has nonetheless underlined the fragile boundary between forceful campaign language and rhetoric that security agencies may regard as capable of encouraging violence.

For a state preparing for another fiercely contested governorship election, the distinction is significant.

Also read: Ondo Police arrest six fake pastors over miracle scam

Political victory will ultimately be determined by ballots, while the responsibility for ensuring that those ballots are cast without fear rests with the parties, their supporters and the security agencies overseeing the process.