FILE: Senator Francis Fadahunsi

Amnesty International Nigeria has vowed to use Senator Francis Fadahunsi as an example in its campaign against impunity and inflammatory political rhetoric ahead of Saturday’s Osun State governorship election.

Fadahunsi, who represents Osun East Senatorial District, came under scrutiny after a viral campaign video allegedly showed him directing supporters to “kill” members of the Accord Party, the platform of incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke.

The senator, however, denied calling for physical violence, explaining that his comment referred to using votes to “kill” the Accord Party at the polls.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, condemned the remarks attributed to Fadahunsi, saying the organisation would use the incident to challenge what he described as the impunity of Nigerian politicians.

“We are going to use him as an example because this is the first time. We had so many other terrible politicians say terrible things ahead of elections, but this one is exceptional. A situation whereby somebody came out on record saying ‘kill them wherever you find them’, I believe that that person does not deserve any peace again because advocacy of hatred is a crime under international law as well as Nigerian laws.

“Therefore, we are going to use this man as an example to show that the impunity by Nigerian politicians cannot continue and we cannot tolerate it again; the people have to hold them to account if the government could not do that,” Sanusi said.

He added that Amnesty International Nigeria would extend its campaign beyond Nigeria by publicly identifying politicians it considers to be promoting electoral violence.

“We will do an international name-and-shame of those advocating for electoral violence. Amnesty International has branches in 150 countries. We will ensure they are named and shamed in those countries and alert their governments to how dangerous these people are,” he said.

Sanusi said accountability for inflammatory statements was particularly important ahead of the 2027 general elections, arguing that political actors must be discouraged from making comments capable of triggering violence.

Fadahunsi was questioned by the Osun State Police Command in Osogbo on Wednesday following the controversy surrounding the video.

After the interrogation, the senator maintained that his remarks had been misconstrued, insisting that he was urging his supporters to defeat the Accord Party politically through their votes, rather than physically attack its members or their families.