Osun Election: Amnesty International To Use Fadahunsi As Example, ‘Name, Shame’ Across 150 Countries

Amnesty International Nigeria has said it will name and shame Senator Francis Fadahunsi, who represents Osun East Senatorial District, across 150 countries where Amnesty International is represented, over alleged incitement to electoral violence ahead of the 2026 Osun State governorship election.

The Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, disclosed this while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

Sanusi said the organisation would use Fadahunsi’s case as an example in its efforts to hold Nigerian politicians accountable for statements capable of provoking violence during elections.

Fadahunsi was invited by the Osun State Police Command on Wednesday for questioning over comments he allegedly made at an All Progressives Congress campaign rally in Ilesa. He was reportedly grilled for about two hours before being released.

The senator had disputed the interpretation of the remarks attributed to him, with reports indicating that he claimed the video circulating online had been generated or manipulated using artificial intelligence.

However, Sanusi said Amnesty International considered the remarks serious enough to warrant international attention.

Asked whether Fadahunsi’s name would be circulated across the countries where Amnesty International operates and whether this could result in restrictions against him, Sanusi responded in the affirmative.

“Yes, we are going to use him as an example,” he said.

According to Sanusi, while several politicians had made inflammatory statements ahead of the election, Fadahunsi’s alleged comments stood out because he was purportedly recorded calling for people to be killed.

“This is the first time we had so many other terrible politicians say terrible things ahead of the election. But this one is exceptional. A situation whereby somebody came out on record, saying that, ‘kill them wherever you find them,’” he said.

Sanusi described such remarks as an advocacy of hatred, arguing that they constituted a serious offence under international law and Nigerian law.

“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,” he said.

The Amnesty International country director said the organisation intended to use the case to challenge what he described as the culture of impunity among Nigerian politicians.

“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,” Sanusi said.

He added that citizens must play a role in demanding accountability from political actors, particularly when government institutions fail to act against inflammatory rhetoric.

“The people have to hold them to account if the government could not do that,” he said.

The controversy comes just days before the Osun governorship election, with political parties intensifying campaigns and security agencies increasing their presence across the state.