When will police prosecute Fadahunsi, Shekwolo and Buba?

As Nigeria approaches the 2027 general election, questions are mounting over why the police have not arrested and prosecuted three ruling-party figures accused of threatening violence against political opponents.

They are Francis Fadahunsi, the senator representing Osun East; Samuel Shekwolo, chairman of Kuje Area Council in Abuja; and Sainna Buba, Borno State commissioner for Poverty Alleviation, Youth and Sports Development. The article says their alleged threats against non-supporters of the All Progressives Congress have deepened concerns among those who fear for the country’s democratic process.

The case involving Fadahunsi has drawn particular attention. Shortly before the August 15 governorship election in Osun State, he reportedly told APC members at a protest at the palace of the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland in Ilesa to retaliate by killing members of the rival Accord Party. A video of the event circulated online, showing Fadahunsi, accompanied by other APC leaders, accusing Accord supporters of killing APC members in Ilesa.

Instead of arresting and prosecuting him, the article says, the Osun State Police Command invited him without opening criminal proceedings. Amnesty International and others had called for authorities to bring him to justice. In an August 11 letter signed by Samuel Etaifo, the police commissioner overseeing the Osun election, the police described Fadahunsi’s statement as potentially “threatening, inciting and intimidating.”

Fadahunsi later sought to soften the remarks during a live Channels Television programme, saying he had urged supporters to defeat Accord at the ballot box rather than attack its members physically. The article argues that the police response may have reinforced the opposition’s belief that ruling-party agents enjoy protection from prosecution. It also questions the National Peace Committee, led by former military head of state General Abdulsalami Abubakar, for appearing silent on threats that could affect the next election.

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threatening, inciting and intimidating