A chieftain of the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja over the academic records of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 election.
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Arabambi filed separate lawsuits against the West African Examinations Council, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the National Youth Service Corps, asking the court to compel the institutions to release existing official records relating to certificates associated with Obi.
The suits were filed under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, after Arabambi claimed that his requests for information from the three institutions were either rejected or left unanswered.
The case against WAEC, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2064/2026, was filed on September 1, 2026. The suit against NYSC, with suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/2063/2026, was filed on the same date, while the action against UNN, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026, was filed on September 9.
The cases were filed by Arabambi’s lawyer, Anderson Asemota.
The Labour Party chieftain said his intention was not for the court to decide whether the certificates Obi presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2027 presidential election were genuine or forged.
Instead, he wants the three institutions to provide records already in their custody so that the details and status of the certificates can be established from their own official documents.
Arabambi said he had separately written to WAEC, UNN and NYSC requesting information about records connected to certificates he believed were issued to Obi. He alleged that UNN and NYSC had not provided the requested information or explained why it had not been released by the time the suits were filed.
He argued that the information was a matter of public interest because Obi is seeking to occupy a major public office.
In the case against WAEC, Arabambi is asking the court to order the examination body to provide a certified copy of WAEC Certificate No. SC042560. The certificate is said to have been issued in June 1978 to Obi Gregory Onwubuase.
For UNN, the plaintiff wants access to existing records linked to Certificate No. D000198. The documents requested include the university’s certificate register, academic records, graduation records, degree-award records and other relevant official documents, where available.
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Arabambi also wants the university to disclose the outcome of any verification of the certificate based on its own records, including whether the certificate and the details attached to it appear in those records.
In the NYSC case, he is seeking records connected to NYSC Certificate No. 203495, which is stated to have been issued on May 1, 1986, to Obi, Gregory Peter-Onwubuase.
He is also asking for any existing record, certificate, document or other material that formed the basis for the issuance of the NYSC certificate.
Another issue raised in the suit concerns the way the name Peter-Onwubuase appears in the relevant NYSC records.
Court documents showed that WAEC turned down Arabambi’s request in a letter dated August 11, 2026. The examination body relied on provisions of the Freedom of Information Act relating to information that may be exempt from disclosure.
However, Arabambi alleged that UNN and NYSC did not approve his requests or give him reasons for withholding the information.
He is therefore asking the court to declare that the institutions’ failure to provide the requested records was contrary to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
He also wants the court to recognise his applications as valid requests for information under the law and treat the failure to respond as a refusal or deemed refusal.
Among the reliefs being sought, Arabambi wants an order directing UNN to provide the result of its verification of Certificate No. D000198 using its existing records. He is also seeking a similar order against NYSC regarding Certificate No. 203495.
The plaintiff further wants the institutions to identify any part of the requested information they believe is protected from disclosure and state the specific law supporting such a decision.
Where some portions of the records are exempt, he is asking that the remaining parts that can legally be released should still be provided.
Arabambi is also asking the court to apply Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act where it finds that the institutions have no lawful or reasonable basis to deny access to the records, or where the public interest in releasing the information is greater than the reason for withholding it.
As of Sunday, no date had been fixed for the hearing of the three suits.
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