The academic credentials of the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, are the subject of three separate suits before the Federal High Court in Abuja, with a Labour Party (LP) chieftain seeking access to records relating to certificates allegedly issued to the former Anambra State governor.
The suits, filed by LP chieftain Abayomi Arabambi, are seeking orders of mandamus compelling the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to release official records relating to Obi’s academic and service credentials.
The legal actions followed what Arabambi described as the refusal of the institutions to provide information in their custody after he made requests under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011.
The suit against WAEC, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2064/2026, and the action against NYSC, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2063/2026, were filed on September 1, while the case against UNN, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026, was filed on September 9.
Arabambi, through his legal team led by Anderson Asemota, told the court that he was not asking it to determine whether the certificates Obi submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Form EC 9 were genuine or forged.
Instead, he said he was seeking access to the institutions’ official records so that the status and details of the certificates could be independently established.
The plaintiff said he had separately written to WAEC, UNN and NYSC requesting information about certificates he believed the institutions had issued to Obi.
According to him, the requests were either rejected or left unanswered, with no adequate explanation provided by some of the institutions for withholding the information.
Arabambi argued that the information was in the public interest, particularly because it relates to a person seeking the country’s highest elective office.
He said the request was intended to promote “transparency and accountability concerning persons seeking public office.”
In the case involving WAEC, Arabambi is asking the court to compel the examination council to provide a Certified True Copy (CTC) of WAEC Certificate No. SC042560, stated to have been issued to Obi Gregory Onwubuase in June 1978.
For the UNN case, he wants access to the university’s certificate register, academic records, graduation records, Senate and degree-award records and other existing official documents relevant to Certificate No. D000198, where such records exist.
“The applicant is not asking this court, in this proceeding, to pronounce that Certificate No. D000198 is genuine or forged.
“Rather, to ascertain what the university’s own official records disclose concerning the certificate,” he added.
The plaintiff is also seeking an order compelling NYSC to provide 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 further requesting any official record, certificate, document or other material upon which the NYSC certificate was based or issued, provided such documents are in the custody, possession or control of the respondents.
Arabambi also wants information showing how the name “Peter-Onwubuase” appears in the relevant NYSC records.
Court documents showed that WAEC declined the request on August 11, relying on Sections 14(1)(a) and 14(2)(a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.
The plaintiff said UNN and NYSC neither granted his requests nor provided reasons for refusing them.
Consequently, Arabambi is asking the court to declare that the refusal by the respondents to provide the requested information, including WAEC’s response dated August 11, 2026, was erroneous under the FOI Act.
He is also asking the court to declare that his requests under the FOI Act were valid and ought to have been granted by the institutions.
Among the orders being sought is a mandamus compelling UNN to communicate the outcome of its verification of Certificate No. D000198 using its existing official records, including whether the certificate or its particulars appear in those records.
He is also seeking an order compelling NYSC to communicate the outcome of its verification of Certificate No. 203495 based on the organisation’s official records.
Another request seeks an order directing the respondents, where they claim that any portion of the requested information is exempt from disclosure, to identify the specific information withheld and the precise statutory provision relied upon, while releasing any non-exempt portions.
The plaintiff is further asking the court to invoke Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act and order disclosure where it finds that the institutions are not authorised to deny access, lack reasonable grounds for refusing the information, or where the public interest in disclosure outweighs the interest protected by withholding it.
No date has yet been fixed for the hearing of the three suits.
