By The Special Adviser on Legal Matters to Governor Ademola Adeleke, Barrister Nurudeen Kareem, has issued a stern warning to online critics of the governor, telling them to publicly apologise or risk investigation, arrest, and prosecution.
“You Are Jokers,” Kareem Tells Critics
In a strongly worded post on his official Facebook page on Wednesday, titled “GET IT CLEAR: Comrade Nuru ENJOYS LAWFUL TROUBLE,” Kareem said posts, videos, or writings about Adeleke over the past three months that are criminal in nature or contain elements of cybercrime would not go unanswered. He insisted that what he called cowardly rantings and antics against him would never stop him from pursuing lawful steps, including investigation, arrest where appropriate, and direct criminal complaints filed before the courts.
He did not mince words about what awaited those he accused of lacking home training, suggesting they could acquire it in what he sarcastically called “correctional centers” rather than prison. According to Kareem, the only sensible way out for offenders was to publicly apologise to the governor, take down offensive posts, and appeal to Adeleke to call him off, adding that he had already been sent numerous screenshots of alleged criminal posts by members of the public.
Kareem acknowledged that citizens retain the right to criticise the governor, but argued the law draws a line at maligning, ridiculing, harassing or cyberstalking Adeleke under the cover of political criticism. He repeated his warning that attacks on him personally would not deter him from pursuing what he described as lawful remedies.
APC Members Allege They Have Been Targeted
Initially, there were earlier reports that some members of the All Progressives Congress took to social media alleging that Adeleke’s aide had pencilled their names down for arrest and prosecution, a claim that appears to have prompted Kareem’s public response.
Citing Precedent, Kareem Points to Past Arrests
To back up his threat, Kareem cited three cases he said demonstrated the administration’s willingness to pursue cyberstalking complaints through the courts. He recalled that in 2024 and 2025, a man identified as BANIK had a Special Adviser to Adeleke arrested for cyberstalking him, with the Federal Ministry of Justice since travelling to Osogbo to prosecute the case, which he said remains pending in court.
He also referenced the case of a PDP councillor from Erin-Osun, who he said former Governor Gboyega Oyetola had arrested in 2025 over alleged cyberstalking, with the councillor subsequently taken to Abuja and held in police custody for more than two months. Kareem further cited the case of Hon. Apesin-Abiodun Adegoke, another Adeleke aide, who he said spent many days in police custody earlier this year over allegations of cyberstalking Bola Oyebamiji, APC’s governorship candidate in the just-concluded election.
Kareem argued that these precedents showed the leadership had zero tolerance for cyberstalking, accusing critics of wrongly believing they had the license to harass, malign, and ridicule the governor without consequence. He closed with a direct warning that even if police declined to investigate, he would pursue offenders through the courts via direct criminal complaints.
Background
The warning comes amid heightened political tension in Osun State following the contested and, at times, violent August 15 governorship election that returned Adeleke to office. It also follows a pattern of past cyberstalking-related arrests involving aides and critics on both sides of the state’s political divide, cases Kareem invoked directly to argue that his threat carries real legal precedent rather than mere rhetoric.
