Fadahunsi Clarifies ‘Kill Accord’ Remark, Says He Meant Defeat at Polls as Osun Election Tensions Rise!
Senator Francis Fadahunsi, representing Osun East Senatorial District, has clarified a controversial remark attributed to him in a viral video ahead of Saturday’s Osun State governorship election, saying his reference to “killing Accord” was about defeating the political party through votes and not about physical violence.
The clarification comes amid heightened political tension in Osun State, where rival parties have traded accusations over alleged political violence, intimidation and attacks as the August 15 governorship election approaches.
Fadahunsi, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), became the centre of controversy after a video circulated online showing him addressing supporters in Ilesa on Tuesday. In the video, he was reported to have used language interpreted as a call for members of the Accord Party to be physically attacked or killed.
The remark generated immediate political reaction, with Governor Ademola Adeleke’s campaign organisation calling for the senator’s arrest and investigation.
Fadahunsi has now disputed the interpretation of his statement, insisting that his use of the expression “kill Accord” referred to defeating the party at the ballot box.
The clarification is significant because it comes only days before voters are scheduled to elect the next governor of Osun State, in an atmosphere already marked by concerns over political violence.
What Fadahunsi Said
The controversy followed comments made by Fadahunsi during a visit by APC leaders and supporters to the palace of the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adesuyi Haastrup, in Ilesa.
According to reports by The Guardian, the senator was addressing concerns over what he described as attacks on APC supporters in Ijesaland when he made the statement that subsequently went viral. The newspaper reported that Fadahunsi was heard speaking in Yoruba and using words interpreted as threatening Accord members. (The Guardian Nigeria)
The incident quickly became a political flashpoint.
Governor Adeleke’s campaign organisation accused the senator of inciting violence and called on security agencies to investigate the statement. Osun Defender reported that the campaign council demanded Fadahunsi’s arrest, describing the alleged statement as a threat to the safety of Accord supporters ahead of the election. (Osun Defender)
Fadahunsi’s subsequent clarification changes the political and legal context of the controversy, although the exact meaning and intent of the original statement remain central to the dispute.
His explanation is that “kill Accord” was political language intended to mean defeating the party through electoral support rather than an instruction to attack or kill individuals.
Political Context Matters
The controversy cannot be separated from the broader political realignment that has transformed Osun politics ahead of the 2026 governorship election.
Fadahunsi, who was elected to the Senate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defected to the APC alongside Senator Olubiyi Fadeyi and other lawmakers earlier in 2026.
The defections represented a major shift in the state’s political landscape and strengthened the APC’s campaign ahead of the governorship contest.
The Nation reported in February that the APC formally received Fadahunsi, Fadeyi and three members of the House of Representatives who had defected from the PDP. At the reception in Osogbo, APC leaders portrayed the movement as evidence of the decline of the PDP and Accord Party in the state. (The Nation)
The political dynamics changed further after Osun Governor Ademola Adeleke moved from the PDP to the Accord Party in December 2025.
In March 2026, Senator Lere Oyewumi, representing Osun West, also left the PDP for Accord. The PUNCH reported that Oyewumi had become the last PDP senator in Osun before his defection, following the earlier departures of Fadahunsi and Fadeyi to the APC. (Punch Newspapers)
The resulting political configuration has placed Accord and APC at the centre of an increasingly competitive governorship contest.
Election Tensions and Violence Allegations
The Fadahunsi controversy emerged against a backdrop of several incidents that have intensified fears about political violence in Osun.
In May, gunmen killed Kolade Eluyera, the son of the Accord Party women leader in Irewole Local Government Area. The incident triggered accusations between political camps, although the police said an investigation was ongoing. The PUNCH reported that the police confirmed recovering the victim’s body with gunshot wounds, while allegations linking the killing to political actors were disputed. (Punch Newspapers)
In June, the Accord chairman for Osogbo Local Government Area, Asimiyu Ajibola, was shot and wounded in an attack that prompted a police investigation. (Punch Newspapers)
Another reported killing in Esa-Oke also generated accusations of political involvement, with competing political actors pointing fingers at one another.
The pattern has contributed to an atmosphere in which political statements are being scrutinised closely, particularly when they involve language that could be interpreted as threatening.
That is why Fadahunsi’s clarification has become important beyond the immediate political dispute.
Police Give Different Account of Ilesa Clash
The circumstances surrounding the controversy also followed a violent incident in Ilesa.
Three people were reportedly killed in a clash around the Imo area of Ilesa on Monday evening, according to The Guardian. The newspaper reported that some community sources linked the incident to supporters of APC and Accord. However, the Osun State Police Command gave a different preliminary account, describing the incident as a cult-related clash involving suspected members of the Aiye and Eiye confraternities. (The Guardian Nigeria)
According to the police, the incident occurred at about 8 p.m. Officers were deployed to prevent further escalation, while four expended cartridges and two mobile phones were reportedly recovered from the scene.
The police said investigations were ongoing to determine the circumstances of the deaths and identify those responsible.
The distinction is important because political parties have repeatedly accused one another of responsibility for violence, while security agencies have sometimes attributed individual incidents to criminal or cult-related activity.
Until investigations are concluded, claims assigning responsibility should therefore be treated as allegations rather than established facts.
Why the Clarification Matters
Political speech carries particular weight during elections, especially in an environment where tensions are already elevated.
Statements made by prominent politicians can influence supporters and potentially shape the atmosphere around polling units and campaign activities.
For this reason, language suggesting physical retaliation or violence can have consequences even when the speaker later argues that the words were metaphorical.
Fadahunsi’s clarification is therefore an attempt to establish that his statement was political rather than violent in intent.
The senator’s explanation is consistent with a common political expression in which parties speak about “killing” an opponent politically, meaning defeating the opponent through the ballot box.
However, in the context of an election already facing security concerns, such language can easily be misunderstood, particularly when delivered before an audience of partisan supporters and subsequently circulated without the full surrounding context.
That places an additional responsibility on political leaders to communicate in language that cannot reasonably be interpreted as encouraging violence.
Accord and APC Remain Locked in Contest
The controversy also illustrates the intensity of the contest between the APC and Accord Party.
Adeleke, the incumbent governor, is seeking another term under the Accord platform, while the APC is fielding Bola Oyebamiji.
The Independent National Electoral Commission’s final list of candidates confirms Adeleke as the Accord candidate for the August 2026 election. (Fed Min Info & National Orientation)
The contest has attracted national attention because of the political realignment that preceded it and the significance of Osun as one of the key political battlegrounds in South-West Nigeria.
For the APC, winning Osun would represent a major political gain following years of competition with the PDP and the emergence of Adeleke’s administration.
For Accord, retaining the governorship would consolidate the party’s dramatic rise in the state following Adeleke’s defection from the PDP.
The political stakes therefore extend beyond the immediate election.
Calls for Restraint
With voting only days away, the priority for political parties and security agencies is to prevent inflammatory rhetoric from translating into confrontation.
The Nigeria Police Force has already intensified security preparations across Osun ahead of the election.
In July, Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu warned political thugs and their sponsors that the police would not tolerate violence during the election period. He said political parties were preparing for an election rather than a war and directed security personnel to pursue perpetrators of violence. (Peoples Gazette Nigeria)
That warning is particularly relevant following the latest controversy.
Regardless of the competing interpretations of Fadahunsi’s words, the wider lesson is that political communication must reinforce rather than undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
Political parties have the right to compete aggressively for votes. Candidates and their supporters also have the right to campaign and persuade voters.
But those rights do not extend to intimidation, threats or violence.
The Ballot Should Decide
Fadahunsi’s clarification ultimately returns the controversy to the central principle of democratic competition: elections should be won through votes.
If his explanation is accepted, “killing Accord” was intended as political shorthand for defeating the party at the polls rather than physically harming its members.
That distinction is crucial.
A political opponent can be defeated electorally without becoming an enemy whose supporters must be attacked. In a democratic system, parties can lose an election today and return to compete tomorrow.
The strength of an election is therefore measured not only by who wins, but also by whether voters are able to make their choices freely and without fear.
For Osun, this is particularly important given the incidents and accusations that have characterised the campaign season.
The state’s political actors now face a choice between allowing the rhetoric of confrontation to deepen existing divisions or using the remaining days before the election to reassure citizens that their votes—not violence—will determine the outcome.
Fadahunsi’s clarification provides an opportunity to make that distinction clear.
If his intention was indeed to defeat Accord through the ballot box, then that is the standard that should guide the remaining campaign.
The APC should seek victory through persuasion and mobilisation. Accord should do the same. Security agencies should protect all voters and candidates without political favour. And citizens should be free to vote for their preferred candidate without intimidation.
As Osun heads to the polls on August 15, the most consequential “battle” will ultimately take place at the ballot box.
The outcome should be determined by the voters, counted transparently and protected by law.
That is the meaning of electoral competition in a constitutional democracy—and it is the standard against which every political statement made in the final days of the campaign should be measured.
Sources
- The PUNCH — “I meant ‘kill Accord’ with votes, not violence — Fadahunsi”
- The Guardian — “Osun guber: Concerns as APC senator threatens to kill Accord members”
- The PUNCH — “Gunmen kill Osun Accord Party women leader’s son”
- The PUNCH — “Osun police launch probe after gunmen shoot Accord chair”
- The Nation — “Osun APC endorse Tinubu for 2027, receives two PDP senators, three Rep members”
- The PUNCH — “Senate deputy minority leader dumps PDP, joins Accord”
- Federal Ministry of Information — INEC releases final list of candidates for August 2026 governorship election
- The Independent — “IG orders crackdown on violence perpetrators in Osun ahead of governorship election”
- Osun State Government — “Political Violence: Governor Adeleke Advocates Economic Sanctions…”
