FCC Drags Nigeria Customs, CG Adeniyi to Court Over Alleged Recruitment Breaches

The Federal Character Commission (FCC) has filed a four-count criminal charge against the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and its Comptroller-General, Bashir Adeniyi, over alleged violations of federal character requirements during the Service’s recruitment exercise.
​Filed on Thursday, November 12, 2026, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the charge sheet accuses the Service and its leadership of withholding recruitment records, preventing statutory monitoring, and defying a directive to suspend ongoing recruitment and training activities.
​The charges were brought under Section 14(3) of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act, Cap. F7, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and are punishable under Section 15 of the Act.
​The Four-Count Charge
​Count One (Withholding Nominal Rolls): The FCC alleged that the Customs Service failed to submit the nominal rolls for its 2025 recruitment exercise despite receiving a formal request dated March 25, 2026. It also accused Adeniyi of recklessly, negligently, or wilfully acquiescing in the Service’s failure to comply with the commission’s directive, contrary to Section 14(3)(b) of the FCC Act.
​Count Two (Obstructing Monitoring): The commission alleged that the defendants failed to invite or submit themselves to the FCC for monitoring of critical stages of the 2025/2026 recruitment exercise between September 14 and October 7, 2026.
​Count Three (Defying Suspension Directive): The defendants were accused of continuing with recruitment and training activities despite receiving a letter dated October 23, 2026, directing the Service to suspend the exercise pending a review, as well as failing to preserve relevant records.
​Count Four (Withholding Recruitment Guidelines): The FCC accused the defendants of failing to provide clear eligibility criteria and comprehensive recruitment guidelines despite repeated requests between January 30 and October 20, 2026—a lapse it said prevented the commission from determining the state and zonal distribution of vacancies.
​To support its prosecution, the FCC listed 14 documentary exhibits—including official correspondence between both agencies, an investigative report on the Service, and records from its October 22 press conference—alongside three witnesses: the Chairman of its Committee on Financial Services, Abdulwasiu K. Bawa-Allah; committee member Isa Jibrin Bida; and committee clerk Usman Yaruwa.
​Background to the Dispute
​The criminal suit follows a dispute between both agencies over the conduct of the Customs recruitment exercise, in which 3,852 candidates were announced successful out of 573,680 applications across the Superintendent, Inspectorate, and Customs Assistant cadres when final lists were published between July 28 and 30, 2026.
​Controversy trailed the exercise after applicants who completed physical screening and medical checks complained of being excluded from training, while individuals whose names did not appear on the published final list allegedly received training invitations.
​On October 19, 2026, Comptroller-General Adeniyi ordered a case-by-case reassessment of the complaints after the Service acknowledged screening issues involving 397 applicants, while maintaining that appearing on the shortlist did not automatically guarantee enlistment. Four days later, on October 23, the FCC directed the Service to suspend the ongoing training exercise, questioning whether it had obtained the mandatory certificate of compliance before issuing invitations.