Senator Francis Fadahunsi has denied directing supporters to attack members of the Accord Party, and said a viral video at the centre of a police investigation was edited to give his Yoruba remarks a violent meaning.
Fadahunsi, who represents Osun East in the National Assembly, made the clarification on Wednesday after he was questioned by the Osun State Police Command over the video, which surfaced days before Saturday’s governorship election.
The senator maintained that when he used the Yoruba expression “kill them”, he was referring to defeating the Accord Party with votes, not physically attacking its members or their relatives.
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He spoke to journalists after a closed-door session with police investigators at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the command in Osogbo.
Fadahunsi said, “Well, we have met, and I have told them what I said, not the one manipulated by mischievous interpreters of our language.
“I am a Yoruba man. If an Igbo or Hausa woman is interpreting Yoruba to me, Yoruba means many things. We said, come Saturday, election, we will kill them with our votes. Go and look at the video; it is almost 38 minutes.”
Fadahunsi said the version circulating online did not reflect the context of his remarks. He also accused an unidentified person of taking the statement from a blog and interpreting it in a manner he considered misleading.
The controversy began after a video circulated on social media showing Fadahunsi speaking in Yoruba to supporters about the Accord Party and the forthcoming election.
New Daily Prime reported on Tuesday that the senator was alleged to have instructed supporters to kill Accord members and prevent their supporters from voting.
Fadahunsi has now offered a different interpretation of the disputed remarks. He insisted that he was speaking about using electoral support to defeat Accord at the ballot box.
The senator also linked his comments to recent killings in his constituency. He said he was responding to the continued attacks on APC members by alleged thugs in Ilesa and other parts of Osun State.
He argued that the attacks were intended to frighten APC supporters and discourage them from voting in Saturday’s election.
Fadahunsi arrived at the police headquarters at about 2:35 p.m. on Wednesday in the company of the Commissioner of Police responsible for election security, Samuel Erale.
The police confirmed that the senator had been interrogated but said the investigation had not been concluded.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Aniete Iniedu, said the police were still examining the matter and would make the outcome of the investigation public after its conclusion.
He also assured residents that adequate security arrangements had been made to protect voters and election officials during the August 15 poll.
The senator’s explanation has come amid growing concern over inflammatory political rhetoric and violence in Osun ahead of the election.
Governor Ademola Adeleke had on Tuesday accused Fadahunsi of inciting violence and “genocide” against Accord Party members and called for his immediate arrest. Adeleke also described the alleged remarks as a national security threat.
Amnesty International subsequently joined calls for accountability. It urged the authorities to act over remarks allegedly instructing supporters to kill Accord members.
In a statement published on its X account on Wednesday, the organisation said authorities should “urgently denounce” statements that advocate violence, whether made in public or online.
“Senator Fadahunsi must be held accountable,” Amnesty International said.
Fadahunsi, however, has rejected the interpretation that he called for physical attacks. He still maintained that his reference to “killing” was political language for defeating an opponent through the ballot.
With the Osun governorship election only days away, the dispute has shifted attention from the original video to the question of its context, translation, and interpretation, while the police investigation is still ongoing.
