Labour Party chieftain Abayomi Arabambi has filed three separate lawsuits against the West African Examinations Council, the University of Nigeria Nsukka and the National Youth Service Corps over records relating to the academic credentials of Nigerian Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi.
Arabambi, through his lawyer Anderson Asemota, is asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel the institutions to release existing official records concerning certificates attributed to Obi under the Freedom of Information Act.
The suits against WAEC and NYSC were filed on September 1, 2026, while the case against UNN was filed on September 9. Arabambi said he had previously written to the institutions seeking information but had either received no response or had his request rejected.
His lawyer said the suits were not asking the court to determine whether Obi’s certificates were genuine or forged. Instead, Arabambi wants access to official records that could establish the status and details of the certificates.
In the WAEC case, he is seeking a Certified True Copy of WAEC Certificate No. SC042560, reportedly issued to Obi Gregory Onwubuase in June 1978.
The UNN case seeks access to the university’s certificate register, academic and graduation records, Senate and degree award records and other documents relating to Certificate No. D000198, if such records exist.
In the NYSC case, Arabambi is seeking records relating to Certificate No. 203495, reportedly issued to Obi, Gregory Peter Onwubuase, on May 1, 1986. He also wants documents showing the basis on which the certificate was issued and records explaining the use of the name “Peter Onwubuase”.
Court documents state that WAEC rejected Arabambi’s request on August 11, citing exemptions under Sections 14(1)(a) and 14(2)(a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011. UNN and NYSC, according to the documents, neither granted the requests nor provided reasons for refusing them.
Arabambi is asking the court to declare the refusal unlawful and order the institutions to provide the requested information. He is also seeking an order requiring them to identify any information they consider exempt from disclosure and release any non exempt portions.
He further wants the court to apply Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act where it finds that the institutions have no reasonable grounds to withhold the records or that the public interest in disclosure outweighs the reasons for keeping them confidential.
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