Senior Advocate of Nigeria and legal counsel to the Senate, Paul Babatunde Daudu, has denied authorship of a controversial open letter addressed to J.S. Okutepa, SAN, which began circulating widely on social media late Sunday.
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The purported letter, allegedly from Daudu’s law firm, Paul Daudu, SAN & Co., warns Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against resuming legislative duties at the Senate, claiming the Federal High Court judgment in her favour did not amount to a binding order nullifying her suspension. The letter, dated July 5, 2025, purportedly advises Okutepa, who represents Senator Natasha, to caution his client pending the release of the enrolled order from the court.
However, in a post on social media platform FaceBook, Daudu firmly refuted the letter’s authenticity. “Dear Members of the Public, please ignore the purported open letter written to J.S. Okutepa SAN making the rounds on social media. It is unsigned and not issued by me. I do not know the source of that letter,” he wrote.
He described the use of his name and firm in the unsigned document as a misrepresentation and emphasized his professional respect for J.S. Okutepa, SAN, whom he referred to as “a father and mentor in the profession.”
“As has been my training, I have always restricted my arguments, rightly or wrongly, to the courtroom,” Daudu stated, dismissing any suggestion that he would have authored such a public-facing legal warning to a senior colleague.
The letter in question, which bears Daudu’s name and signature line, warned of potential disorder in the Senate chamber if Senator Natasha attempts to resume duties without an official court order. It argued that Justice Binta Nyako’s July 4 judgment merely contained an “opinion” (obiter dictum) regarding the excessiveness of Natasha’s six-month suspension, and not a direct order compelling her reinstatement.
TheNigeriaLawyer and the public have since raised questions about the origin and intent of the fake letter, especially given its detailed legal arguments and apparent timing ahead of the Senator’s planned return to the chamber on Tuesday.
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