A Labour Party (LP) chieftain, Abayomi Arabambi, has sued the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), over its alleged refusal to release details of the academic records of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).
Arabambi, in a fresh suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, said he had requested a Certified True Copy (CTC) of certificate number D000198, allegedly issued to Obi in 1984 for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy.
According to the applicant, the university failed to honour his request, which he said was made under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.
In the originating motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026 and filed by his lawyer, Anderson Asemota, on September 9, Arabambi said he had previously written to the university requesting the records.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that court documents made available on Saturday identified the Vice-Chancellor and UNN as the first and second respondents respectively.
Arabambi is seeking an order of mandamus compelling the respondents to carry out their statutory responsibilities under the FoI Act by determining and responding to his request dated July 16.
In an affidavit outlining the facts of the case, Arabambi said he requested the records in a letter dated July 16, 2026.
“The applicant also requested a Certified True Copy of the certificate, academic record or other official records upon which the said degree was predicated.
“The said request was duly delivered to and received by the respondents on 6th August, 2026.
“The applicant expressly made the request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, and stated the public-interest and accountability basis for the request.
“The respondents failed and/or neglected to provide the requested information within the period prescribed by the Act,” he said.
Arabambi said the university also failed to issue him a written notice explaining its refusal and identifying the specific provision of the law relied upon to deny access to the information.
He subsequently sent a reminder dated August 31, 2026, again requesting the documents.
“The reminder letter was delivered to and received by the respondents on 1st September, 2026, as evidenced by the delivery receipt,” he said.
The affidavit, deposed to by Chuku Maudlyn, a litigation secretary at Messrs Neplus Ultra Attorneys, stated that the delivery receipt identified the recipient as the Vice-Chancellor and the destination as UNN.
“As at the commencement of this action, the respondents have neither supplied the requested records nor issued a lawful written notice of refusal,” he said.
Arabambi is asking the court for 19 reliefs, including a declaration that his request under the FoI Act constitutes a valid request for information covered by the legislation.
He is also seeking an order compelling UNN to provide a CTC of certificate number D000198, if the certificate exists within the university’s custody, possession or control.
In addition, he wants the institution to provide certified copies of existing official academic and institutional records relating to the degree and certificate, where such records are within its custody or control.
The documents requested include relevant academic records, graduation and degree-award records, certificate-register entries, Senate or academic approval records relating to the award, as well as other official records upon which the degree or certificate was based.
Giving grounds for the application, Arabambi argued that he has a statutory right to access information held by a public institution and that UNN is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
He said the information sought relates to a certificate represented as having been issued by UNN, making the university the institution whose records are directly relevant to his request.
Arabambi further argued that Section 4 of the Act places a statutory obligation on the respondents to respond within the prescribed period.
He said the failure to provide the requested information or issue a lawful refusal amounted to a refusal or deemed refusal under the law.
“The failure therefore constitutes a refusal and/or deemed refusal under the Act,” he concluded.
NAN reports that the dispute also centres on what Arabambi described as multiple variations of Obi’s name appearing across documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and educational authorities.
The case has not yet been assigned to a judge.
Source: NAN
