A chieftain of the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi, has instituted three separate legal actions against the West African Examinations Council, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the National Youth Service Corps over the academic records of Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
The suits were filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja and were made available to journalists on Sunday. In the actions, Arabambi is asking the court to compel the three institutions to release official records in their custody relating to certificates said to have been issued to Obi.
The cases were filed under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011. The plaintiff alleges that the institutions either failed to respond or declined to provide information he requested concerning Obi's academic history.
According to court filings, the suit against WAEC is marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2064/2026 and was filed on September 1, 2026. The suit against the NYSC is marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2063/2026 and was also filed on September 1. The suit against the University of Nigeria, Nsukka is marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026 and was filed on September 9. All three suits were filed by his counsel, Anderson Asemota.
Arabambi stated that he is not asking the court to determine whether the certificates submitted by Obi to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2027 presidential election are genuine or forged. He said his request is for disclosure of existing official records from which the status and particulars of the certificates can be ascertained.
He said he wrote separately to the three institutions requesting access to information about certificates he believes were issued to Obi, and that as of the time of filing, he had not received the requested information or reasons for withholding it from UNN and NYSC.
In the case against WAEC, the plaintiff is seeking a Certified True Copy of WAEC Certificate No. SC042560 said to have been issued to Obi Gregory Onwubuase in June 1978. In the case against UNN, he is seeking access to the university's certificate register, academic records, graduation records and other official records relevant to Certificate No. D000198. In the NYSC case, he is seeking access to records relating to NYSC Certificate No. 203495 said to have been issued to Obi, Gregory Peter-Onwubuase on May 1, 1986, and the records upon which it was issued.
Court documents indicated that WAEC, in a letter dated August 11, 2026, declined the request, citing Sections 14(1)(a) and 14(2)(a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information Act. Arabambi alleges that UNN and NYSC did not grant the requests or provide reasons for refusal.
The plaintiff is asking the court to declare that the refusal or deemed refusal by the respondents was erroneous, that his requests constitute valid applications under the FOI Act, and to grant an order of mandamus compelling the institutions to communicate the result of their verification of the certificates from existing official records. He also wants the court to direct that where any information is claimed to be exempt, the respondents should identify the portion withheld and the specific statutory provision relied upon, and to order disclosure of all non-exempt severable portions.
He is further asking the court to apply Section 25 of the FOI Act and order disclosure where it finds that the respondents have no reasonable grounds to withhold the information or where public interest outweighs the interest in withholding.
The plaintiff said the information is sought in the public interest for transparency and accountability concerning persons seeking public office, and that he is not asking the institutions to create any document that does not exist.
