Senator behind ‘kill them’ comment blames Gov Adeleke for political violence in Osun East

Senator Francis Fadahunsi, representing Osun East, accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of bringing political violence into the Ife/Ijesa region ahead of Saturday's gubernatorial election. In response to allegations that Fadahunsi had called for Adeleke's arrest over inciting supporters to murder Accord Party members, Fadahunsi claimed that Governor Adeleke had failed to stop politically motivated killings that had spread to Osun East.

Fadahunsi alleged that 30 members of Adeleke's All Progressives Congress (APC) had been killed over the past month in coordinated attacks aimed at intimidating opposition supporters and discouraging them from voting. The senator stated that Adeleke created terrorism in Osun East, a stronghold of the APC, in order to destabilize the region and prevent people from voting in large numbers.

Fadahunsi also alleged that four individuals were killed and 16 others were wounded in gunfire during a dispute over control of the local government administration in Ijesaland. Additionally, Fadahunsi recounted violence in Esa-Oke in April 2025, in which four people were killed and 12 others were injured. The Osun State chapter of the APC defended Fadahunsi against the viral video, criticizing Governor Adeleke for demanding the senator's arrest and alleging that Adeleke remained bitter over Fadahunsi's defection to the party.

The APC described the video as doctored by the governor's team to create a false narrative, emphasizing that it did not support violence as a means of settling political disputes. The APC stated that the accusation against Fadahunsi was a result of desperation from the relatively unknown political party to maliciously attack the highly respected and peace-loving federal lawmaker.