A prominent member of the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi, has filed three separate lawsuits at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to compel the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to release official records related to the academic credentials of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election.
Filed under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, the suits ask the court to order the disclosure of records that Arabambi argues are necessary for the public to verify the status and particulars of certificates associated with Obi. The cases against WAEC and NYSC were filed on September 1, 2026; the suit against UNN was filed on September 9. The WAEC case is marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2064/2026, the NYSC case FHC/ABJ/CS/2063/2026, and the UNN case FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026.
Represented by his lawyer, Anderson Asemota, Arabambi informed the court that he had separately requested information from each institution about certificates he believes were issued to Obi, but said his requests were either denied or ignored.
Importantly, Arabambi clarified that he is not asking the court to rule on the authenticity or otherwise of Obi’s certificates. Instead, he is asking the institutions to disclose their existing records so that the validity and details of the certificates can be independently reviewed.
In the suit against WAEC, Arabambi seeks a Certified True Copy of WAEC Certificate No. SC042560, allegedly issued to Obi Gregory Onwubuase in June 1978.
Court filings reveal that WAEC previously rejected his request in a letter dated August 11, 2026, citing exemption clauses in the Freedom of Information Act. Arabambi is now asking the court to compel WAEC to provide the requested certificate or, at minimum, release information permitted under the law.
With respect to UNN, Arabambi is seeking access to institutional records related to Certificate No. D000198, which he claims pertains to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy awarded to Obi in 1984. The sought documents include the university’s certificate register, academic records, graduation records, and Senate or degree-award records, to the extent such records exist.
Arabambi wrote to UNN on July 16 under the FOI Act, with the request received by the university on August 6. He sent a follow-up on August 31, received on September 1, but alleges that by the time the lawsuit was filed, UNN had neither provided the records nor issued a written refusal stating the legal grounds for withholding them.
The third lawsuit targets the NYSC and concerns records associated with NYSC Certificate No. 203495, which Arabambi says was issued to Obi Gregory Peter-Onwubuase on May 1, 1986. He is also seeking court clarification regarding the appearance of the name “Peter-Onwubuase” in the relevant NYSC records.
Collectively, the three lawsuits do not seek a judicial declaration about the authenticity of Obi’s credentials, but rather focus on whether the public institutions holding these records are obligated to disclose them under the FOI Act.
Arabambi maintains that the information sought is in the public interest, given it concerns the credentials of a presidential candidate, and argues that his requests are intended to promote transparency and accountability among those seeking public office. He also emphasizes that he is not asking the institutions to create new documents, but only to allow access to existing official records in their possession or control.
