Osun Election Violence: Group Demands Probe into 29 Deaths

…Fadahunsi Threat Claims

The Revolutionary Socialist Movement (RSM) has called for an immediate investigation into the deaths of 29 people reportedly linked to 73 incidents of electoral violence in Osun State ahead of the governorship election, warning that political violence is threatening the credibility and safety of the polls.

The group also demanded a transparent investigation into alleged death threats reportedly issued by Senator Francis Fadahunsi, representing Osun East Senatorial District, against supporters of the Accord Party in Ilesa.

In a statement issued on Thursday by its Publicity Secretary, Comrade Salako Kayode, the RSM described the reported violence as a disturbing indication of the extent to which political competition has degenerated in the state.

The socialist organisation said no politician, regardless of political affiliation or position, should be allowed to use threats, intimidation or violence against opponents without facing the consequences of the law.

“Such threats must not be dismissed as ordinary political rhetoric,” the group said, insisting that the allegations against Fadahunsi should be investigated and that prosecution should follow if they are substantiated.

The RSM called for investigations into all 73 reported cases of electoral violence and the 29 deaths, as well as the prosecution of anyone found culpable for killings, assaults or threats.

It further demanded that security agencies provide protection for voters, candidates and political activists irrespective of their political affiliations, while urging authorities to dismantle the networks of political thugs and armed groups allegedly deployed during elections.

The group warned that allowing political violence to go unchecked could turn elections into contests between rival groups fighting for control of public resources rather than democratic exercises in which citizens freely choose their leaders.

‘Nigeria cannot continue under rule of political gangs’

Beyond the immediate security concerns surrounding the Osun election, the RSM used the statement to launch a broader attack on what it described as Nigeria’s entrenched political establishment.

According to the organisation, successive governments have failed to translate the enormous public resources under their control into meaningful improvements in the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

It cited unemployment, insecurity, poverty, inadequate healthcare and poor access to quality education as evidence of what it described as a political system driven more by competition for wealth and power than by the interests of workers and other vulnerable groups.

The RSM argued that workers, farmers, young people, students and traders should not be forced to choose between rival political formations whose leadership, it alleged, is primarily interested in controlling public resources.

It declared that Nigeria required a fundamental restructuring of political and economic power, with public wealth deployed to meet social needs rather than private enrichment.

In a significant political intervention ahead of the Osun election, the group urged voters to consider the African Action Congress (AAC) as an alternative to the established political parties.

The RSM called on workers, youths, farmers, students, traders and other groups it described as oppressed to reject vote-buying, intimidation and political violence.

However, the organisation acknowledged that an election alone would not transform the political system.

It called for sustained organisation and mobilisation after the polls, arguing that citizens must build independent movements capable of holding whoever emerges from the election accountable.

The group said such mobilisation should focus on securing decent employment, living wages, quality education and healthcare, affordable housing, democratic freedoms and greater public control over the country’s resources.

The RSM’s demands include an immediate probe into the reported electoral violence and deaths, investigation of the allegations against Fadahunsi, prosecution of those found responsible, an end to the deployment of political thugs during elections and stronger protection for all participants in the democratic process.

The group also called for an end to what it described as the looting and privatisation of public wealth for the benefit of political elites.

Concluding its statement, the RSM urged the people of Osun to reject what it called the politics of competing political gangs and rally behind what it described as a people’s alternative.

“Vote for the alternative. Vote AAC. Organise. Mobilise,” the group declared, calling for a broader struggle for what it termed “a Socialist Nigeria.”