Wale Odusola, an Ondo State-based lawyer charged with cybercrime over his Facebook post criticising the state’s 2025 budget, has named an aide to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on Student Affairs as the petitioner behind his prosecution.
In a video posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday, Mr Odusola alleged that Solomon Olaolu, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Students’ Affairs, petitioned the Commissioner of Police in the state claiming he was sent by the governor.
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He posted the video after Governor Aiyedatiwa distanced himself from the petition that prompted the police to file the charges.
The governor, denying knowledge of the petition and its aftermath, directed the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Kayode Ajulo to take steps to withdraw the case from court.
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“In case nobody tells the governor, I am telling the governor that his SSA on Student Affairs, Mr Solomon Olaolu, went to the CP’s office,” Mr Odusola said. “He (Mr Olaolu) said the governor sent him to represent him (Governor Aiyedatiwa) and to lodge a complaint on his behalf. That is all I want to say.”
While maintaining that he would take the governor by his words, Mr Odusola called for disciplinary action against the official responsible.
Mr Olaolu declined our reporter’s request for his comments via telephone on Wednesday. “No comment,” he said before hanging up the call.
‘How police lied against me’
Mr Odusola also accused the police of lying against him by falsely claiming in the three charges filed against him on Tuesday that he had suggested the governor was having an extramarital affair with the state’s Commissioner of Finance, Wunmi Isaac.
He said, although he anticipated an arrest over his critical comments on the state’s budget, he never expected the police to go as far as lying against him.
“The only thing I didn’t expect was the false claim made against me. They wrote in the charge that I accused the governor of having an extramarital affair. Which I never did. They claimed that my words insinuated that the governor was having an affair.
“But insinuation is speculation. That means they are trying to read my mind. And as the saying goes, No one can read another man’s thoughts just by looking into his eyes. Now they are saying that I insinuated something. But they are the ones insinuating it—not me. I never said it. You can go back and watch my video. That is the painful part.”
PREMIUM TIMES found that although unsubstantiated speculation of the governor’s secret affairs with the finance commissioner has been making the round in the state, Mr Odusola never mentioned anything of such in his 10.50-minute-long video he posted on Facebook on 11 February, which was the basis for the police charges.
He demanded that there must be consequences for such conduct from the police and the governor’s aide that wrote the petition.
“There must be consequences for that. That is why I am mentioning the person who wrote the petition and claimed he was sent by Mr Governor. If a man lies against you, there must be repercussions. And I am waiting for those repercussions. That is why I am naming names—so that Mr. Governor knows the truth.”
NBA, lawyer react
The governor’s denial of knowledge of the case and his order for the withdrawal of the charges raised further questions.
On Wednesday, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Okitipupa Branch, which Mr Odusola belonged to, faulted the governor’s denial, citing overwhelming evidence contradicting his claim.
“It is a matter of public record that Mr Odusola was arraigned on allegations including defamation of the governor’s character in a Facebook video. However, from the charge sheet and statements made in court, it is clear that Governor Aiyedatiwa is named as the complainant.
“Additionally, the police prosecutor affirmed in open court that the governor is the complainant. Why, then, the sudden and blatant disassociation?” read the statement signed by the NBA branch chairman Omotola Odusola, who is a brother to the defendant and older Mr Odusola.
“If the governor now claims he did not author the petition that led to this baseless prosecution, then the truth must be laid bare,” the statement added.
Similarly, on Wednesday, a human rights lawyer, Tope Temokun, raised concerns over Governor Aiyedatiwa’s directive to withdraw the charges, questioning the process that led to Mr Odusola’s prosecution in the first place.
In a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Temokun criticised the handling of the case, asking how a petition resulted in an arraignment without official approval.
“Who woke up on the wrong side of his bed and went to the highest office of the police command to file an unauthorised petition in the governor’s name, invoking the statutory investigative and prosecutorial powers of the police—an action that almost led to a lawyer’s remand, but for the magistrate’s discretion and strong legal defence?” he said.
Mr Temokun argued that since the governor had publicly distanced himself from the prosecution, attention should shift to those within his administration who facilitated it.
“There is a big danger ahead. It means there are intolerant, power-drunk political operatives within the government—petty dictators who pose a threat to our liberty as critical citizens,” he said.
“How many more times must the governor distance himself from actions taken in his name before we realise the state’s institutions are being misused?”
He called on the government to take a firm stance against the unauthorised use of its name to justify legal action.
“We must take the governor at his word, but if he truly had no hand in this, then who should be held responsible? Whoever invoked the governor’s name to instigate this prosecution must be identified and made to apologise,” he insisted.
Background
This newspaper reported that the police came after Mr Odusola days after he posted a video criticising the 2025 Ondo State budget, alleging that it marginalised his community, Ilaje Local Government Area—the state’s primary oil-producing region.
Speaking his native Ilaje language in the video posted on Facebook on 11 February, Mr Odusola expressed disappointment over the allocation of infrastructure projects.
He said that while Owo, the hometown of the late former Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, received 12 projects worth approximately N3 billion, Ilaje was only assigned one road project valued at N100 million.
“Marginalisation is real, and calling it out is not a crime,” Mr Odusola said in the video. “We will not be silenced.”
He further argued that Governor Aiyedatiwa, being the first Ilaje indigene to be governor of the state in its 47-year history, had a duty to prioritise the development of the area.
He noted with concern that if Governor Aiyedatiwa failed to take advantage of his position as the first governor from the area, the Ilaje people may never have such a chance again.
The police subsequently invited Mr Odusola for questioning on Monday.
The invitation drew criticism, with many accusing the police and the governor of intolerance toward dissenting views.
Despite the criticism, on Tuesday, the police charged and arraigned him before a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Oke-Eda, Akure.
In one of the counts, the police alleged that Mr Odusola’s remarks amounted to cyber harassment, subjecting the governor to “emotional and psychological abuse” and exposing him to hatred and ridicule.
The charges also alleged that Mr Odusola defamed Governor Aiyedatiwa by claiming he had neglected his constituency and had an affair with the state’s Finance Commissioner, Wunmi Isaac.
The police also accused him of using his video to incite public disaffection against the governor.
He was arraigned on Tuesday before a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Oke-Eda, Akure. Mr Odusola pleaded not guilty to all three counts.
The magistrate granted him bail on self-recognition and fixed 5 May for trial.
However, the criticism of the governor and the police grew with the lawyer’s arraignment on Tuesday, forcing the governor’s to react to the case for the first time later in the day.
In a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, distanced Mr Aiyedatiwa from the case, insisting that the governor neither authorised nor instigated the legal action.
The governor also directed the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice to take steps towards withdrawing the case.
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