FILE: Senator Francis Fadahunsi

The Peoples Democratic Party has demanded an investigation into comments attributed to Senator Francis Fadahunsi in a viral video, in which he allegedly threatened violence against political opponents ahead of the 2027 elections.

The PDP made the demand in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee, Comrade Ini Ememobong on X on Wednesday.

The party said Nigerians and the international community received the senator’s reported comments with “tremendous shock,” describing the remarks as uncivilised and unacceptable in a democracy.

In the viral video, Fadahunsi was quoted as saying: “So, we have come to tell you, up till the day of the election, if we see them, it is killing.”

The PDP condemned the statement, saying political contests should provide citizens with an opportunity to freely choose their leaders rather than become a platform for threats and violence.

The opposition party also linked the senator’s remarks to what it described as a pattern of inflammatory rhetoric by members of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

According to the PDP, the APC’s presidential candidate has previously been quoted as saying, “Political power is not going to be served in a restaurant… At all cost, fight for it, grab it, and run with it,” as well as “all is fair in politics.”

“These and many more hurtful rhetorics have been deployed by the ruling party unapologetically,” the PDP said, arguing that such statements had contributed to what it described as unprecedented political tension in the country.

The party maintained that elections were “not structured as a do-or-die contest” but were intended to give citizens the opportunity to freely select their representatives.

“What Nigerians face instead is a ruling party that has normalised warlike rhetoric- intimidating the people, silencing the opposition, and working to impose a predetermined outcome on the electorate in 2027,” the statement said.

The PDP specifically called for an investigation into the Fadahunsi incident and other alleged threats to peaceful and transparent elections in Osun State.

It also urged President Bola Tinubu, the APC and their officials to stop what it described as anti-democratic narratives and threats being presented as political communication.

The party said civility must become central to political communication and insisted that the outcome of elections should reflect the will of voters freely expressed through the ballot.

“Civility must take centre stage in our political communication, and the elections must be a true reflection of the will of the people, freely given through the ballot,” the PDP said.

The opposition party described this as the “irreducible minimum” that the government and all political parties must observe in the interest of protecting Nigeria’s democracy.

“This is the irreducible minimum, which the government and all political parties must adhere to, in the interest of the survival of democracy and the country,” Ememobong said.