Senator Fadahunsi's inflammatory remarks should get him suspended, not a quiet police chat

Timi Frank, the former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, has called for the immediate suspension of Senator Francis Fadahunsi over a viral video where the senator, speaking in Yoruba, allegedly urged his audience to attack Accord Party supporters in Ilesa ahead of Saturday's Osun governorship election. Frank didn't mince words, saying, "I condemn the comment of Senator Francis Fadahunsi strongly and call on the security agencies to immediately act, despite his position, to arrest the senator with all urgency." He added, "The Senate must immediately suspend such a senator who can make such unguarded statements. We want to see action taken as an example to every person involved in election violence."

Now, I have watched this pattern before. A prominent politician says something inflammatory, the police summon them, they show up, and then the matter quietly disappears. The Osun State Police Command confirmed they summoned Fadahunsi and that he honoured the summons on Wednesday, but details remain sketchy. Sketchy. That is the word that should worry every Nigerian who cares about free and fair elections. If a senator is caught on video urging violence against political opponents, that is not a chat over tea. That is incitement, and it should have consequences that match the gravity of the offence.

Some people will say, "Ah, it is just campaign rhetoric, they all do it." But that is exactly the problem. We have normalised political thuggery and hate speech to the point where we expect nothing to happen. This is the same state that is already tense ahead of the August 15 election between Governor Ademola Adeleke and APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO. If we let this slide, we are telling every politician that you can threaten your opponents and get away with it. The Senate and the police must act decisively, not just for Fadahunsi but to set a precedent. Am I the only one that thinks this is a test case for how serious we are about election integrity in this country?