Peter Obi’s UNN Academic Records: Arabambi Heads to Court
The academic records of Peter Obi have become the subject of a fresh legal battle as Labour Party chieftain Abayomi Arabambi approaches the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to compel the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to release documents relating to the politician’s university education.
The dispute, however, is not yet a judicial determination on the authenticity or otherwise of Obi’s academic qualifications. At its centre is whether UNN complied with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act following Arabambi’s request for certified records.
Arabambi, a former factional spokesperson of the Labour Party, filed the originating motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026 on September 9 through his lawyer, Anderson Asemota.
He named the Vice-Chancellor of UNN and the university as respondents.
According to court documents, Arabambi had requested a Certified True Copy of Certificate No. D000198, which he said was issued by UNN to Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi in respect of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1984.
Beyond the certificate itself, the applicant is asking the university to release official academic and institutional records upon which the degree and certificate were based.
Arabambi said his initial request, dated July 16, 2026, was made pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and was received by the respondents on August 6.
He alleged that the university neither supplied the requested information within the prescribed period nor issued a written refusal identifying the provision of the law relied upon to deny access.
Following the alleged lack of response, Arabambi said he sent a reminder dated August 31, which was received on September 1.
He subsequently approached the Federal High Court seeking judicial intervention.
Among the 19 reliefs sought by the applicant is an order of mandamus compelling the respondents to furnish him with a Certified True Copy of Certificate No. D000198, if the certificate exists within their custody, possession or control.
He is also seeking access to relevant academic records, graduation and degree-award documents, certificate-register entries, Senate or academic approval records and other existing institutional documents connected with the degree.
The applicant argued that the Freedom of Information Act gives him a statutory right to request information held by a public institution and contended that UNN has a corresponding obligation to respond in accordance with the law.
Arabambi’s application also raises questions about what he described as variations in Obi’s name appearing across documents submitted to electoral and educational authorities.
Those claims remain allegations contained in the applicant’s case and have not been determined by the court.
The development could nevertheless attract significant political attention because Obi remains a prominent figure in Nigeria’s national politics ahead of the 2027 general election.
Rather than merely being a controversy about a university certificate, the case could also test the boundaries of public access to academic records held by government-owned universities, particularly where the records concern individuals seeking major public offices.
UNN’s own Students’ Records and Institutional Research Office describes itself as the custodian of undergraduate students’ files and academic records and says it handles services including certificate and transcript verification.
The legal question before the court, however, will depend on the applicant’s claims, the university’s eventual response and the relevant provisions of Nigerian law.
As of the latest report, the case had yet to be assigned to a judge.
Until the Federal High Court hears the matter and the respondents present their position, the suit should therefore be viewed as a legal attempt to compel disclosure of records rather than proof of any irregularity in Peter Obi’s academic qualifications.
