The Osun State Government has approached the High Court of Osun State seeking an order compelling the police to investigate alleged threats made by Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi 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, just three days before the August 15 governorship election.
The application was filed by the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, SAN, against the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command.
Fadahunsi, who represents Osun East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, was listed as the affected or interested party in the case.
The state government is asking the court to issue an Order of Mandamus compelling the police to investigate a video circulating on social media in which the senator was allegedly captured making statements that the government considered threatening to members of the Accord Party.
According to the court documents, the video was said to have been recorded on August 11 during a political gathering in front of the Owa Obokun’s Palace in Ilesha.
The government alleged that Fadahunsi made statements that could be interpreted as a call for violence against members and supporters of the Accord Party.
It further claimed that a transcript and translation of the speech showed the senator allegedly directing his supporters to attack Accord members whenever they encountered them and threatening their families.
The government also alleged that Fadahunsi instructed his supporters to chase Accord members out of hotels where they were found.
The senator was further accused of making derogatory comments about the yellow caps associated with the Accord Party.
The state government alleged that Fadahunsi also threatened that the governorship election would not take place if Accord members resisted the alleged actions of APC supporters.
However, the suit does not ask the court to declare the senator guilty of any criminal offence.
Rather, the government wants the police to investigate the video, establish the facts surrounding the statements and determine whether they amount to offences under Nigerian law.
The state government is also seeking an order directing the police to preserve the complete video and carry out authentication and forensic examination to determine whether the material had been edited, altered or manipulated.
The request is significant because videos and other materials shared on social media can sometimes be taken out of context or edited before being circulated widely.
The government therefore wants the police to establish the authenticity of the video as part of their investigation.
It is also asking the court to compel the police to take preventive measures to protect Accord candidates, members and voters from intimidation, harassment or violence before, during and after the election.
Another relief sought by the government is an order directing the police to ensure that registered voters and Accord supporters are not prevented from accessing hotels and other locations during the electoral period.
The government also wants the police to submit a report on compliance with any orders issued by the court within 48 hours.
In an affidavit filed in support of the application, Nurudeen Kareem, Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Adeleke on Legal Matters, said members and supporters of the Accord Party had expressed what he described as reasonable and legitimate concerns about their safety.
He said the concerns covered the period before, during and after Saturday’s election.
The state government argued that the police have a constitutional and statutory duty to prevent crime, protect lives and property and maintain public order.
It cited the Police Act 2020 and the 1999 Constitution in support of its position.
The government maintained that law enforcement agencies should not wait for violence, injuries or deaths to occur before responding to an alleged public threat.
“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 said in the court filing.
The government stressed that its action was aimed at preventing possible violence rather than determining the criminal responsibility of the senator.
The Attorney-General also made it clear that the suit was not asking the court to determine whether Fadahunsi was guilty of the alleged offences.
According to the government, such a determination could only be made through a proper criminal trial after the relevant authorities had investigated the matter and, where necessary, brought charges before a competent court.
The immediate concern, it said, was for the police to carry out their statutory duties and take preventive measures to protect people who could be at risk.
The development comes at a sensitive time in Osun State, with political parties and their supporters preparing for the governorship election scheduled for Saturday.
The election is expected to be closely contested, with Governor Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party seeking another term in office.
The poll has also attracted the attention of major opposition parties and political groups, with concerns over security and the conduct of campaigns becoming part of the wider political debate.
The role of security agencies is particularly important during elections because political disagreements and clashes between supporters can quickly escalate into violence.
The Osun State Government, in its court application, warned that failure to act on the alleged threats could have serious consequences.
It argued that there was little time before the election and that “time is of the absolute essence”.
The government warned that failure to investigate and take preventive action could expose residents to what it described as “irreparable harm, loss of life, and widespread civil unrest.”
The suit therefore places the police at the centre of efforts to address the allegations before the election.
The government is seeking immediate intervention because the election is only days away and wants the police to establish whether the video contains genuine threats and whether any criminal laws have been breached.
The case also highlights the growing importance of social media in Nigeria’s political campaigns, where speeches and political activities can quickly be recorded and circulated to large audiences.
While such materials can help document events, questions about their authenticity, context and possible editing can also arise.
The court will now have to consider the reliefs sought by the Osun State Government and determine whether to compel the police to take the requested steps.
For the government, however, the central issue is prevention.
It argues that law enforcement agencies have a duty to act on credible warnings before violence occurs, especially in the days leading to an election when tensions are often high.
As political parties intensify their final mobilisation ahead of Saturday’s poll, the government’s action has added a fresh security and legal dimension to the Osun election.