The Federal Character Commission (FCC) has filed criminal charges against the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and its Comptroller-General, Bashir Adeniyi, over alleged violations of federal character principles and failure to provide information on the agency’s 2025/2026 recruitment exercise.
The four-count charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/772/2026 and dated November 12, was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, with the NCS and Adeniyi listed as first and second defendants respectively.
In the charge sheet, the commission accused the Customs CG of failing to provide requested information and records relating to the recruitment exercise despite repeated demands.
It alleged that the action contravened Section 14(3)(b) of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act, 2004, punishable under Section 15 of the same legislation.
The FCC also accused Adeniyi of failing, refusing or neglecting to invite the commission to monitor relevant stages of the recruitment process or submit himself to its oversight.
In another count, the commission alleged that the NCS and its CG disobeyed its directive to suspend the 2026 recruitment and training activities pending a review of the exercise.
According to the charge sheet, the defendants allegedly continued with the exercise despite receiving a letter dated October 23, 2026, directing the service to suspend recruitment and training, preserve relevant records and allow the commission to monitor the process.
The FCC further accused the Customs Service of failing to provide clear recruitment criteria and comprehensive eligibility guidelines, despite repeated requests between January 30 and October 20, 2026.
It alleged that the failure prevented the commission from determining the geographical and zonal distribution of vacancies, thereby undermining its ability to assess compliance with federal character requirements.
The commission said the alleged offences contravened Sections 14(3)(b) and 14(3)(f) of the FCC Act and are punishable under Section 15.
Recruitment Controversy
The dispute followed the NCS’s July announcement of 3,852 successful candidates out of 573,680 applications received for recruitment across three cadres: superintendent, inspectorate and customs assistant.
Speaking on the recruitment outcome in August, Adeniyi expressed confidence in the selection process, insisting that he was prepared to defend its credibility, while maintaining that successful candidates were allocated equally across the 36 states of the federation.
In September, the service invited successful applicants for physical screening and documentation at the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, Abuja, before subsequently inviting some candidates for training.
However, the exercise generated controversy following allegations that some applicants whose names appeared on the successful candidates’ list were screened out and replaced with individuals who had not participated in the recruitment process.
In a statement on October 19, the NCS acknowledged receiving complaints from applicants but explained that 397 candidates had been disqualified during the screening exercise over issues involving substance abuse, age, physical fitness and documentation.
The service also attributed some disqualifications to identified irregularities in the selection process.
The controversy escalated in October when the FCC called for the suspension of the recruitment exercise over alleged violations of federal character principles.
