After Senator’s ‘Kill Order’, Two Dead, Speaker Attacked In Osun East

The Osun East Senatorial District, represented by Senator Francis Fadahunsi, has descended into chaos and violence following his widely publicised order for members of the Accord party to be killed.

The senator issued the order during a rally at the palace of the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland in Ilesa on Tuesday.

He has, however, denied giving the order, despite a viral video capturing the moment, insisting he only instructed supporters to “kill Accord with votes.”

The police subsequently invited him for questioning, and he was seen on Wednesday, in videos posted online, boasting that he honoured the invitation and that there was nothing to the allegation.

Fadahunsi represents Ife/Ijesa, which falls within the Osun East Senatorial District covering ten local government areas across the Ife and Ijesa cultural zones.

The zone accounts for the second-highest voting strength in Osun after Osun Central, with 823,410 registered voters representing 35 per cent of the state’s total voting population of 2,339,233.

Any candidate with a strong showing in both Osun Central and Osun East is expected to win Saturday’s governorship election.

The Accord party’s candidate and incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, is expected to win Osun Central, home to the state capital, Osogbo, with a voting population of 984,817 – about 42 per cent of the total.

The remaining zone, Osun West, accounts for 531,006 voters, or 24 per cent.

Esa Oke, one of the flashpoints in Osun East, recorded one death on Wednesday as violence spread through the area.

Fadahunsi’s visibility in the APC’s campaign, including the alleged order to attack rival party members, has fuelled fears that he may be working to deliver Osun East for the party.

A victory for the APC in Osun East and Osun West could end Adeleke’s dream of a second term.

The unrest has heightened concerns that Saturday’s election could descend into further bloodshed, with two people now confirmed dead and the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Adewale Egbedun, attacked on Wednesday in Okuku.

He confirmed the attack in a Facebook post calling on the security agencies to investigate, noting two people arrested were handed over to the security agencies.

Raising the alarm over the deteriorating security situation, the spokesman for the Accord governorship campaign organisation, Pelumi Olajengbesi, said in a Facebook post that APC thugs were “reportedly on a rampage in Esa Oke, attacking Accord members and invading their homes and properties,” warning that every act of destruction and killing “must be thoroughly investigated” and those responsible “brought to justice.”

Olajengbesi also referenced comments attributed to Hon. Wole Oke, alleging he had “reportedly stated publicly that anyone who was not a member of his party should face the consequences of whatever happened to them,” describing such statements as carrying “dangerous implications” given the killings already recorded in Esa Oke.

He disclosed that the situation had been reported to the Department of State Services (DSS), with the Accord party reaching out to international organisations and observers on ground in Osun State.

In a further statement, Olajengbesi mourned the death of Dele Ayegbo, describing his killing as “gruesome” and insisting that “the loss of any life to violence is unacceptable and must concern every well-meaning person in Osun State.”

He called on security agencies to “thoroughly investigate the circumstances” surrounding Ayegbo’s death and other killings in Esa Oke, and urged political leaders to “immediately stop making violent, threatening and inflammatory statements” capable of inciting their supporters.

While the APC campaign organisation has not reacted to the accusations, the campaign team could not be reached for comment as of the time of this report.