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With barely 48 hours to Saturday’s Osun governorship election, the Chairman of the Accord Party in the state, Pastor Victor Akande, on Thursday filed a direct criminal complaint against Senator Francis Fadahunsi before the Osun State Magistrate Court, accusing him of issuing threats capable of triggering violence and killings against Accord Party members.
The complaint was filed on behalf of the complainants by A. A. Ahmed, Esq, of the law firm MT Adekilekun, SAN.
According to the complaint, Fadahunsi was captured on video on August 11 during a rally organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC), during which he allegedly directed that anyone seen wearing an Accord Party cap before election day should be killed, a directive Akande said persons at the rally were “excited about and eager to carry out.”
He further alleged that the senator instructed that the video be widely circulated so more people would be aware of the directive.
The Accord chairman contended that the statements amounted to uttering seditious words that had caused discontent and disaffection among the people of Osun State and promoted ill-will and hostility between different segments of the population.
Akande told the court that many Accord supporters had seen the video and become fearful for their lives, and that some had initially vowed to retaliate rather than wait to be attacked, but that he had persuaded them to remain calm and allow the law to take its course. He said he and his family, along with Accord members across the state, had since been living in fear, unable to campaign or go about their lawful business as the election approached.
“The life of the complainant and all the Accord Party members are now in imminent danger as a result of conscious and direct threat from the suspect and if this complaint is not attended to with timeously, the suspect will carry out his barbaric threat in this modern democracy where rule of law is the order of the day,” the complaint read.
The complainants urged the court to invoke its powers to intervene and bring Fadahunsi to book, arguing that judicial action would help forestall the threats being carried out and prevent possible reprisal attacks by Accord members that could lead to a breakdown of law and order in the state. A video of the rally was attached to the complaint, with the complainants indicating that further evidence would be presented at trial.
Aside from Fadahunsi, a similar direct criminal complaint was filed against the APC’s House of Representatives candidate in the state, Damilare Eniade, for allegedly inciting violence against Accord Party members. That complaint was lodged separately by the Chairman of the Accord Party in Ilesa East Local Government, Hon. Fatogun Seyi.
Both Fadahunsi and Eniade are accused of uttering seditious words contrary to Sections 50 and 51 of the Osun State Criminal Code.
