The academic and service credentials of the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, have come under fresh legal scrutiny following three separate suits filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The suits, instituted by a Labour Party chieftain, Abayomi Arabambi, seek to compel 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 certificates allegedly issued to Obi.
Arabambi, through his legal team led by Anderson Asemota, is seeking orders of mandamus compelling the institutions to provide records requested under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011.
The plaintiff stressed that he was not asking the court to determine whether the certificates submitted by Obi to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 presidential election were genuine or forged.
Rather, he wants access to the institutions’ original records to establish what their official databases and registers disclose about the certificates.
The suit against WAEC, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2064/2026, and the NYSC case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2063/2026, were filed on September 1, 2026, while the suit against UNN, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026, was filed on September 9.
In the WAEC case, 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.
He also wants UNN to provide its certificate register, academic and graduation records, Senate or degree-award records, and other relevant official documents relating to Certificate No. D000198, where such records exist.
According to the plaintiff, the purpose of the request is to establish what UNN’s own records reveal about the certificate, rather than to ask the court to pronounce on its authenticity.
The NYSC suit similarly seeks access to records concerning NYSC Certificate No. 203495, which is stated to have been issued to Obi, identified in the relevant records as Gregory Peter-Onwubuase, on May 1, 1986.
Arabambi is also asking for any official documents or records upon which the NYSC certificate was based or issued, as well as information concerning the appearance of the name “Peter-Onwubuase” in the organisation’s records.
Court documents showed that Arabambi had separately written to WAEC, UNN and NYSC requesting information on the certificates.
While WAEC reportedly declined his request in a letter dated August 11, 2026, citing Sections 14(1)(a) and 14(2)(a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information Act, UNN and NYSC allegedly neither provided the requested information nor gave reasons for their refusal.
Arabambi subsequently approached the court, arguing that the information sought was in the public interest, particularly in relation to transparency and accountability concerning individuals seeking elective public office.
Among other reliefs, he is asking the court to declare that the refusal to provide the requested information was erroneous and that his requests under the FOI Act were valid.
He is also seeking an order compelling the institutions to disclose the outcome of any verification of the certificates against their official records.
Another relief seeks an order requiring the respondents, where they claim any portion of the requested information is exempt from disclosure, to identify the specific information withheld, state the statutory provision relied upon, and release any severable portion that is not exempt.
The plaintiff is further asking the court to invoke Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act where it finds that the institutions are not authorised to deny access, lack reasonable grounds for doing so, or where the public interest in disclosure outweighs the interest served by withholding the information.
No date has yet been fixed for the hearing of the suits.
The cases are now expected to test the extent to which public institutions can be compelled under Nigeria’s FOI framework to disclose records relating to the credentials of political candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
VANGAURD
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