A chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), Abayomi Arabambi, has instituted three separate legal actions against the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) over the academic credentials of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).
The suits, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seek orders of mandamus to compel the institutions to release official records relating to certificates allegedly issued to Obi. Arabambi predicates his actions on the alleged refusal of the federal institutions to release the details in line with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 2011.
Specifically, the suit against WAEC (FHC/ABJ/CS/2064/2026) seeks a Certified True Copy of WAEC Certificate No. SC042560, issued to Obi Gregory Onwubuase in June 1978. The action against UNN (FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026) seeks the university’s certificate register, academic and graduation records relevant to Certificate No. D000198. The third suit against NYSC (FHC/ABJ/CS/2063/2026) seeks access to records relating to NYSC Certificate No. 203495, issued to Obi, Gregory Peter-Onwubuase on May 1, 1986.
Arabambi, through his lawyer Anderson Asemota, stressed he is not asking the court to determine whether the certificates are genuine or forged, but merely seeking “disclosure of the respondents’ official records from which the status and particulars of the certificate may be ascertained”. He stated the information sought is in the public interest for “purposes of transparency and accountability concerning persons seeking public office”.