BREAKING: Peter Obi Faces Fresh Certificate Scrutiny as Court Asked to Order WAEC, UNN, NYSC to Release Records

• Labour Party chieftain Abayomi Arabambi has asked an Abuja Federal High Court to compel WAEC, UNN and NYSC to release academic records relating to Peter Obi.

A Labour Party chieftain, Abayomi Arabambi, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel WAEC, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to release certified copies of academic and institutional records relating to Peter Obi.

Arabambi made the request in three separate suits filed under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, 2011, seeking orders of mandamus compelling the three institutions to disclose records relating to certificates reportedly issued in the name Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi.

The records being sought include a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from UNN, listed as Certificate No. D000198; a WAEC certificate reportedly issued in June 1978, with Certificate No. SC042560; and an NYSC discharge certificate issued in May 1986, bearing No. 203495.

The suits, identified as FHC/ABJ/CS/2064/2026 against WAEC, FHC/ABJ/CS/2063/2026 against NYSC, and FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026 against UNN, were filed on September 1 and September 9.

Arabambi’s legal team told the court that formal requests had been sent to the institutions, including reminders to UNN, but the requests allegedly went unanswered within the timeframe stipulated by the FoI Act.

The Labour Party chieftain maintained that he was not asking the court to determine whether the certificates Obi submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2027 presidential election were authentic.

Rather, he said he was seeking “disclosure of the respondents’ official records from which the status and particulars of the certificate may be ascertained.”

Arabambi said the request was made in the public interest, “for purposes of transparency and accountability concerning persons seeking public office”.

He further argued that he was not asking the institutions to create new documents, but only seeking access to existing official records in their custody.

For UNN, Arabambi is seeking access to the university’s certificate register, academic records, graduation records and Senate or degree-award records relating to Certificate No. D000198.

He is also asking for clarification on how the name “Peter-Onwubuase” appears in NYSC records and the specific documents used as the basis for NYSC Certificate No. 203495.

Court filings indicate that WAEC, in a letter dated August 11, 2026, rejected Arabambi’s request, citing Sections 14(1)(a) and 14(2)(a) and (b) of the FoI Act.

UNN and NYSC, however, are alleged to have neither granted the requests nor provided reasons for withholding the requested records.

Arabambi is asking the court to declare the refusals unlawful and affirm that his applications were validly made under the FoI Act.

He is also asking the court to rule that the institutions’ failure to respond amounted to a deemed refusal and compel them to identify precisely what information they are withholding and the specific statutory provisions relied upon if they claim any of the records are exempt from disclosure.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of any of the three suits.