Abayomi Arabambi, a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), has filed three lawsuits against the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) over the alleged refusal to release records relating to certificates linked to Peter Obi.

The suits were filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

Arabambi, a former national publicity secretary of the Lamidi Apapa faction of the LP, filed the cases through a legal team led by Anderson Asemota.

The suits against WAEC and NYSC were filed on September 1, while the case against UNN was filed on Wednesday.

The WAEC case is marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2064/2026, the NYSC case is FHC/ABJ/CS/2063/2026, and the UNN case is FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026.

According to court documents obtained on Sunday, Arabambi said he had separately written to the three institutions requesting information about certificates he believed were issued to Obi.

He alleged that WAEC rejected his request, while UNN and NYSC neither granted his requests nor explained why they refused.

The LP chieftain is asking the court to compel the institutions to release official records that could establish the status and particulars of the certificates.

In the suit against WAEC, Arabambi wants the examination council to release a certified true copy of certificate number SC042560, allegedly issued to Obi Gregory Onwubuase in June 1978.

He is also seeking the outcome of any verification of the certificate against WAEC’s official records.

Arabambi said WAEC declined his request in a letter dated August 11, citing sections 14(1)(a), 14(2)(a), and 14(2)(b) of the FOI Act.

He is asking the court to declare that his request was valid and ought to have been granted.

In the case against the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Arabambi is seeking access to records relating to certificate number D000198.

The requested documents include the university’s certificate register, academic and graduation records, senate or degree-award records, and other existing official documents relating to the certificate.

He wants UNN to disclose whether the certificate and its particulars appear in its records.

For the NYSC, Arabambi is seeking records relating to certificate number 203495, allegedly issued to “Obi, Gregory Peter-Onwubuase (Mr.)” on May 1, 1986.

He wants the corps to provide any official record, certificate, document, or other material on which the certificate was based or issued, where such records are in its custody or control.

He is also seeking information on how the name “Peter-Onwubuase” appears in the relevant NYSC records.

The suits refer to variations in Obi’s name across documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and educational institutions.

Arabambi, however, said the lawsuits are not asking the court to determine whether the certificates Obi submitted to INEC for the 2027 presidential election are genuine or forged.

Instead, he said he wants access to the institutions’ official records to establish the status and particulars of the certificates.

“The applicant is not asking this court, in this proceeding, to pronounce that Certificate No. D000198 is genuine or forged,” he stated in the suit against UNN.

“Rather, to ascertain what the university’s own official records disclose concerning the certificate.”

Arabambi is also asking the court to order the institutions to communicate the outcome of their verification of the certificates against their official records.

He wants the respondents, where they consider any part of the requested information exempt from disclosure, to identify the information withheld, state the specific 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 FOI Act where it finds that the institutions are not authorised to deny access, have no reasonable grounds for doing so, or where the public interest in disclosure outweighs the interest served by withholding the information.

The three suits are yet to be assigned to a judge.