A Labour Party chieftain, Abayomi Arabambi, has dragged the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and its Vice-Chancellor before the Federal High Court in Abuja over the institution’s alleged refusal to provide details of the academic records of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
Arabambi is seeking a court order compelling the university to respond to a Freedom of Information request concerning documents relating to Obi’s academic qualification.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026, was filed on September 9 by Arabambi’s lawyer, Anderson Asemota.
According to the court documents reported by the News Agency of Nigeria, Arabambi said he wrote to UNN on July 16, 2026, requesting a Certified True Copy of certificate number D000198, which he said relates to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy reportedly issued to Obi in 1984.
He also requested the academic record and other official documents on which the degree was based.
Arabambi said the request was made under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, and that he stated the public-interest and accountability reasons behind his request.
According to the court documents, the request was received by the university on August 6, 2026, but Arabambi alleged that UNN neither supplied the requested documents nor provided a written notice explaining its refusal under a specific provision of the FOI Act.
He subsequently sent a reminder dated August 31, again asking the institution to respond to his request.
Arabambi is now asking the Federal High Court to issue an order of mandamus compelling the Vice-Chancellor and UNN to perform what he describes as their statutory duty under the FOI Act by determining and responding to his request.
The case forms part of a wider controversy surrounding questions raised by Arabambi about Peter Obi’s academic and identity records.
Arabambi has previously alleged discrepancies in the way Obi’s name appears on documents including his WAEC, UNN and NYSC records. Earlier reports documented the different name formats appearing on copies of those documents, although the significance of those differences has been disputed and they have not, by themselves, established that Obi’s academic qualification is fraudulent.
The latest suit, however, is specifically about Arabambi’s request for access to UNN records and the university’s alleged failure to respond as required under the FOI Act.
There is currently no court finding in the case that Peter Obi’s degree is fake or that he committed any academic offence. The substantive issue before the court is whether UNN should be compelled to formally respond to Arabambi’s information request.
Neither UNN nor its Vice-Chancellor’s response to the allegations was included in the reports available at the time of publication.
The development comes as political scrutiny intensifies ahead of the 2027 presidential election, in which Obi is expected to contest under the NDC platform.
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