OSOGBO — The Osun State Government has approached the High Court of Osun State seeking an order compelling security agencies to investigate Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi over alleged threats against members and supporters of the Accord Party ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
The suit, marked HOS/M.157/26, was filed on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at the Osogbo Judicial Division, barely three days before the August 15 governorship election.
The application, filed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, SAN, seeks an Order of Mandamus directing the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, to investigate the alleged threats attributed to the senator.
Fadahunsi, who represents Osun East Senatorial District, was joined in the suit as the person affected or interested party.
The state government said the legal action followed a video circulating on social media in which the senator was allegedly captured addressing a political gathering in front of the Owa Obokun’s Palace in Ilesha on August 11.
According to the documents filed before the court, the government alleged that statements made by Fadahunsi during the gathering could be interpreted as calls for violence against members and supporters of the Accord Party.
The government said a transcript and translation of the speech indicated that the senator allegedly directed his supporters to attack Accord members wherever they encountered them and allegedly issued threats against their families.
It further alleged that Fadahunsi instructed his supporters to chase Accord members out of hotels whenever they were found there and made derogatory remarks concerning the party’s yellow caps.
The government also alleged that the senator threatened that the governorship election would not hold if Accord Party members resisted the alleged actions of APC supporters.
The Attorney-General is therefore asking the court to compel the police to investigate the video and determine whether the alleged statements amount to criminal offences under applicable laws.
The state government is also seeking an order directing the police to preserve, authenticate and subject the complete video to forensic examination to establish whether it has been altered, edited or otherwise manipulated.
Among other reliefs, the government wants the police to take preventive measures to protect Accord Party candidates, members and voters from intimidation, harassment or possible violence before, during and after the election.
It also wants the security agencies to ensure that registered voters and Accord supporters are not prevented from accessing hotels or other locations during the electoral period.
In addition, the government is asking the court to direct the respondents to submit a report on their compliance with the court’s directives within 48 hours of the orders being granted.
In an affidavit filed in support of the application, Nurudeen Kareem, Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Adeleke on Legal Matters, said members of the Accord Party had expressed what he described as “reasonable and legitimate concerns” about their safety and security before, during and after the election.
The state government argued that the police have a statutory responsibility under the Police Act 2020 and the 1999 Constitution to prevent crime, maintain public order and protect lives and property.
It maintained that waiting for violence to occur before investigating an alleged public threat would defeat the preventive responsibility of law enforcement agencies.
“The Applicant believes that waiting until actual violence, deaths, or injuries occur before investigating an alleged public instruction to kill political opponents would amount to a dereliction of duty,” the government stated in the court filing.
The Attorney-General also clarified that the suit was not asking the court to determine whether Fadahunsi is criminally guilty of any offence.
According to the government, any determination of criminal guilt would have to be made through a proper criminal trial.
Rather, the state said it was seeking an order compelling the police to perform their statutory duties by investigating the allegations and taking appropriate preventive measures where necessary.
With the governorship election scheduled for Saturday, August 15, the government stressed that “time is of the absolute essence.”
It warned that failure by the relevant security agencies to investigate and respond to the alleged threats could expose residents to what it described as “irreparable harm, loss of life, and widespread civil unrest.”
The court is expected to consider the reliefs sought by the state government as the parties approach the election date.
