Amnesty International Nigeria says it will publicize the case of Senator Francis Fadahunsi across the 150 countries where it operates, calling him an example in its campaign against politicians who incite electoral violence.
Country Director Isa Sanusi made the comments on Channels Television's Sunrise Daily, reacting to a viral video in which Fadahunsi, who represents Osun East, appeared to direct supporters to "kill" members of the rival Accord Party ahead of Saturday's Osun governorship election. "We had so many terrible politicians say terrible things ahead of elections, but this one is exceptional... advocacy of hatred is a crime under international law as well as Nigerian laws," Sanusi said.
Fadahunsi has denied calling for violence; while he initially said the video was edited to distort his meaning, he has more recently claimed it was generated using artificial intelligence. Amnesty said it would also target politicians who hire religious figures to incite violence on either side of Nigeria's religious divide. The warning comes amid separate reports from human rights lawyer Femi Falana alleging at least 30 people have been killed in politically motivated violence in Osun State in the weeks leading up to the election.