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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Osun State Government has approached the court, seeking an order of mandamus compelling the police to investigate Senator Francis Fadahunsi over alleged threats against members and supporters of the Accord Party, ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
The application, marked HOS/M.157/26 and filed by the Attorney-General of Osun State, named the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, as respondents.
According to the application, the legal action followed a video circulating on social media, allegedly showing the lawmaker representing Osun East Senatorial District addressing a political gathering in front of the Owa Obokun’s Palace in Ilesha on August 11.
The senator was alleged to have made statements interpreted as calls for violence against members and supporters of the Accord Party, as well as supporters of the incumbent Governor, Ademola Adeleke.
The court was told that a transcript and translation of the speech showed Fadahunsi allegedly directing his supporters to attack Accord members wherever they were found, threatening their families, instructing them to chase Accord members out of hotels and making derogatory comments about the party’s yellow caps.
The Attorney-General is asking the court to compel the police to investigate the video and determine whether the alleged statements constitute criminal offences under applicable laws.
The government is also seeking an order directing the police to preserve, authenticate and conduct a forensic examination of the complete video to establish whether it had been altered or edited.
Other reliefs sought include an order compelling the police to take preventive measures to protect Accord candidates, members and voters from intimidation or harassment before, during and after the election.
The government is further asking the court to direct the police to ensure that no person acts on the alleged statements to intimidate, threaten, attack, harass or unlawfully obstruct Accord members, supporters or any registered voter from exercising their constitutional rights around the August 15, 2026, poll.
It also wants the police to submit a comprehensive compliance report within 48 hours of any order granted, citing the “extreme urgency and public safety implications” of the matter.
In a supporting affidavit, Nurudeen Kareem, Special Adviser to Governor Adeleke on Legal Matters, said Accord members had raised “reasonable and legitimate concerns” about their safety before, during and after the election.
The government argued that the police have a statutory duty under the Police Act 2020 and the 1999 Constitution to prevent crime and maintain public order.
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It further contended that waiting for actual violence to occur before investigating an alleged public threat “would amount to a dereliction of duty.”
The Attorney-General clarified that the suit was not asking the court to determine Fadahunsi’s criminal guilt, noting that such a determination would require a full criminal trial.
Rather, the government said it was seeking to compel the police to fulfil their statutory responsibilities and take preventive measures, warning that failure to act could expose residents to “irreparable harm, loss of life, and widespread civil unrest.”
Separately from the Osun High Court suit, direct criminal complaints have also been filed against Fadahunsi and the APC House of Representatives candidate, Damilare Eniade, for allegedly “uttering seditious words” contrary to Sections 50 and 51 of the Osun State Criminal Code.
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