A chieftain of the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi, has instituted three separate suits against the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), seeking access to official records relating to the academic credentials of the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi.
The suits, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, were instituted under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011. Arabambi is asking the court to compel the three institutions to provide records and information concerning certificates allegedly issued to Obi.
The legal actions were filed at a time when questions surrounding the academic credentials of political candidates have continued to attract public attention ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to the court documents made available on Sunday, Arabambi’s suit against WAEC is marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2064/2026 and was filed on September 1, 2026. The case against the NYSC, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2063/2026, was filed on the same date, while the suit against UNN, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026, was filed on September 9.
The suits were filed on Arabambi’s behalf by his lawyer, Anderson Asemota.
Arabambi maintained that his legal action is not intended to compel the court to determine whether the certificates presented by Obi to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 presidential election are genuine or forged.
Rather, he said the purpose of the suits is to obtain official records held by the institutions so that the status, particulars and history of the certificates can be independently established from the records of the institutions that allegedly issued them.
The plaintiff stated that he had separately submitted requests to WAEC, UNN and NYSC seeking information about certificates he believed were issued to Obi.
He alleged that, as of the time the suits were instituted, he had not received the information requested from UNN and NYSC, nor had the institutions communicated reasons for withholding the records.
According to him, the information is relevant to the public interest, particularly in promoting transparency and accountability in relation to individuals seeking to occupy public office.
Arabambi further stressed that his requests did not require the respondents to create new documents or generate information that did not already exist.
Instead, he said he was seeking access exclusively to existing official records within the custody, possession or control of the three institutions.
In the suit against WAEC, Arabambi specifically asked the court to compel the examination body to release a Certified True Copy of WAEC Certificate No. SC042560, which he said was issued to Obi Gregory Onwubuase in June 1978.
He said access to the certificate and related records would enable him to establish what the examination body’s own records contain concerning the document.
The plaintiff said his request was not an invitation to WAEC to produce a new certificate or make a fresh determination of its validity. Rather, he wants access to the records already maintained by the examination body.
Court documents indicated that WAEC responded to Arabambi’s request in a letter dated August 11, 2026.
The examination council reportedly rejected the request, relying on Sections 14(1)(a) and 14(2)(a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.
Arabambi is challenging the position taken by the examination body and asking the court to determine whether the refusal was lawful under the Freedom of Information Act.
In the case against the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Arabambi is seeking access to the university’s existing records relating to Certificate No. D000198.
The records requested include the university’s certificate register, academic records, graduation records, Senate or degree-award records and other official documents relevant to the certificate, to the extent that such records exist.
Arabambi stated that he was not asking the court to determine whether the certificate was authentic.
Instead, he wants the university to disclose what its official records show about the certificate and its particulars.
Among the reliefs sought, he is asking the court to order UNN to communicate the result of its verification of the certificate’s particulars based on the university’s existing official records.
He also wants the university to state whether the certificate and the particulars associated with it appear in its records.
In the action against the National Youth Service Corps, Arabambi is seeking official records concerning NYSC Certificate No. 203495, which is stated to have been issued to “Obi, Gregory Peter-Onwubuase (Mr.)” on May 1, 1986.
He is asking for the official record, certificate, document or other material upon which the NYSC certificate was based or issued, provided such records remain within the custody, possession or control of the respondents.
The plaintiff is also seeking clarification concerning the manner in which the name “Peter-Onwubuase” appears in the relevant NYSC records.
He wants the court to compel the NYSC to communicate the outcome of its verification of Certificate No. 203495 based on the agency’s official records.
Arabambi is asking the Federal High Court to declare that the refusal or failure of the respondents to provide the requested information was unlawful or erroneous.
He is also asking the court to hold that his requests constituted valid applications for information under the Freedom of Information Act and that the failure to respond amounted to a refusal or deemed refusal under the law.
Another relief sought by the plaintiff is an order requiring any respondent claiming that part of the requested information is exempt from disclosure to identify the specific information being withheld and the statutory provision relied upon.
He further wants the court to order the disclosure of any severable portions of the requested records that are not covered by an exemption under the law.
Arabambi is also asking the court to invoke Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act where applicable and order disclosure if it finds that the respondents are not legally authorised to deny access, have no reasonable grounds for withholding the information, or where the public interest in disclosure outweighs the interest protected by non-disclosure.
The cases are therefore centred on access to existing official records rather than a direct judicial determination of whether Obi’s certificates are genuine.
The suits could nevertheless attract considerable public interest because of the political position occupied by Obi and the importance attached to the academic qualifications of candidates seeking elective office.
As of the time of filing the report, no date had been fixed for the hearing of the three suits.
