A chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), Abayomi Arabambi, has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to release certified true copies of academic and institutional records of the Nigeria Democratic Party (NDP) presidential candidate Peter Obi.
In three separate suits filed under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, 2011, Arabambi is seeking orders of mandamus to compel the three bodies to disclose records relating to certificates reportedly issued in the name Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi, including a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from UNN (Certificate No. D000198), a WAEC certificate issued in June 1978 (No. SC042560), and an NYSC discharge certificate issued in May 1986 (No. 203495).
The suits – FHC/ABJ/CS/2064/2026 against WAEC, FHC/ABJ/CS/2063/2026 against NYSC, and FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026 against UNN – were filed on September 1 and September 9, according to a report by The New Diplomat.
Arabambi’s legal team told the court that formal requests sent to the institutions, including reminders to UNN, went unanswered within the timeframe stipulated by the FoI Act.
The applicant insisted he was not asking the court to rule on the authenticity of the certificates Obi submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2027 presidential election, but was merely seeking “disclosure of the respondents’ official records from which the status and particulars of the certificate may be ascertained.”
He said the information was sought in the public interest, “for purposes of transparency and accountability concerning persons seeking public office”.
The plaintiff added that he was not asking the institutions to create any document that did not already exist, but only to grant access to existing official records in their custody.
For UNN, Arabambi wants access to the university’s certificate register, academic records, graduation records, and Senate/degree-award records relevant to Certificate No. D000198.
He is also seeking clarification on how the name “Peter-Onwubuase” appears in NYSC’s records, and the specific documents on which Certificate No. 203495 was based.
Court filings show that WAEC, in a letter dated August 11, 2026, declined Arabambi’s request, citing Sections 14(1)(a) and 14(2)(a) and (b) of the FoI Act. UNN and NYSC, however, are alleged to have neither granted the request nor given any reason for withholding the records.
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Arabambi is asking the court to declare the refusals unlawful, hold that his applications were valid under the FoI Act, and rule that the institutions’ silence amounted to a deemed refusal.
He also wants the respondents compelled to specify, where they claim any information is exempt, exactly what is being withheld and under which statutory provision.
No date has been fixed for hearing in any of the three suits.
