There has been a fresh controversy surrounding the academic credentials of Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election, as Labour Party chieftain Abayomi Arabambi has dragged the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Arabambi filed three separate suits seeking orders compelling the institutions to release official records concerning certificates allegedly issued to Obi.
The suits, filed pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, followed what Arabambi described as the institutions’ failure or refusal to provide information he had requested concerning Obi’s academic records.
The legal action against WAEC, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2064/2026, was filed on September 1, 2026. The NYSC case, FHC/ABJ/CS/2063/2026, was filed the same day, while the suit against UNN, FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026, was filed on September 9.
However, Arabambi made it clear that he was not asking the court to determine whether the certificates Obi submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2027 presidential election were genuine or forged.
Instead, he said he wanted access to the institutions’ existing records to establish what they contain concerning the certificates in question.
The plaintiff said he was seeking “disclosure of the respondents’ official records from which the status and particulars of the certificate may be ascertained”.
He also stressed that he was not asking the institutions “to create any document or information which does not exist” but was seeking “access only to existing official records within the custody, possession or control of the respondents.”
In the suit against WAEC, Arabambi is asking the court to compel the examination body to release a Certified True Copy of WAEC Certificate No. SC042560, reportedly issued to Obi Gregory Onwubuase in June 1978.
His request to UNN covers the university’s certificate register, academic and graduation records, Senate or degree-award records and other existing documents relating to Certificate No. D000198.
Arabambi said his intention was not for the court to pronounce on the authenticity of the certificate, but to “ascertain what the University’s own official records disclose concerning the certificate”.
The NYSC case centres on Certificate No. 203495, stated to have been issued to “Obi, Gregory Peter-Onwubuase (Mr.) on May 1, 1986”.
Arabambi is also seeking access to the official records or documents upon which the certificate was based or issued, as well as information on how the name “Peter-Onwubuase” appears in the relevant NYSC records.
The legal battle intensified after WAEC, in a letter dated August 11, 2026, rejected Arabambi’s request, citing provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
According to the plaintiff, however, UNN and NYSC neither granted his requests nor explained why the information was being withheld.
He is consequently asking the court to declare the refusal to provide the requested information erroneous and to hold that the failure amounted to “a refusal and/or deemed refusal under the Act”.
Among other reliefs, Arabambi wants the court to compel UNN and NYSC to communicate the results of their verification of the disputed certificates based on their existing official records.
He is also asking the court to direct the institutions to identify any information withheld on grounds of exemption and specify the statutory provisions relied upon for such refusal.
Where portions of the requested information are not exempt, he wants the court to order their disclosure.
Arabambi further urged the court to invoke Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act and order disclosure where it finds that the respondents have no lawful or reasonable basis for denying access, or where the public interest in disclosure outweighs the interest served by withholding the information.
As of the time of the report, no date had been fixed for the hearing of the three suits.
