ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) has said it is working with other civil society organisations and concerned citizens to institute legal action against Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi over his alleged threat against members of the Accord Party ahead of the Osun State governorship election.
The Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Dr Andrew Mamedu, disclosed this on Thursday, in Abuja while presenting the findings and recommendations of the Independent Judicial Accountability Panel (IJAP), convened under the organisation’s CiTi-Act project of AAN.
Fadahunsi, who represents Osun East Senatorial District, has been accused of allegedly instructing his supporters to kill members of the Accord Party ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
A video circulating online purportedly showed the Senator making the statement, which was translated as directing supporters to kill Accord members whenever they encountered them and warning that they would not be allowed to vote on election day.
Mamedu said although the Senator had been condemned and invited for investigation, ActionAid was not satisfied with the pace of the process and would pursue the matter through the courts.
“Some citizens have raised concerns and we are working with them to go to court,” Mamedu said.
According to him, the legal action would seek to compel the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to expedite the investigation and forward its report to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) for further action.
He added that the group would also seek to compel the Attorney-General of Osun state to prosecute the person allegedly involved.
Mamedu stressed that ActionAid’s position was non-partisan and driven by the need to protect citizens and safeguard the integrity of elections.
“We don’t care which political party is involved. Our concern is the Nigerian citizens and ensuring that this whole idea of threatening citizens for election, pre-election, is stopped,” he said.
He warned that threats made before election day could have a chilling effect on voters, noting that electoral participation could be undermined even before polling begins if citizens fear violence.
“Election is not only real on election day. That statement alone could keep a lot of people out of the day-to-day voting,” he said and reaffirmed ActionAid’s support for free, fair and inclusive elections, saying members of the organisation were participating in the election observation process.
He said the organisation would continue to work with citizens and other civil society groups to pursue judicial accountability and ensure that threats capable of undermining democratic participation were addressed.
END
Comments