FCC charges Customs CG Adeniyi over alleged recruitment irregularities
The Federal Character Commission (FCC) has filed criminal charges against the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and its Comptroller-General, Bashir Adeniyi, over alleged failure to provide information and records relating to its 2025/2026 recruitment exercise.
The four-count charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/772/2026 and dated November 12, was filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
According to the charge sheet, the commission accused Adeniyi of withholding requested recruitment information, failing to invite the FCC to monitor relevant stages of the exercise and disregarding its directive to suspend recruitment and training activities pending a review.
The FCC also alleged that the Customs Service failed to provide clear recruitment criteria and comprehensive guidelines for determining eligibility, making it difficult to establish the state and zonal distribution of vacancies.
The alleged offences contravene provisions of Section 14 of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act, 2004, and are punishable under Section 15 of the same legislation.
The controversy followed the NCS’s announcement in July that 3,852 candidates had been selected from 573,680 applications across three entry cadres: superintendent, inspectorate and customs assistant. Adeniyi subsequently maintained that successful candidates were allocated equally across the 36 states.
However, allegations emerged that some successful applicants were screened out and replaced by individuals who did not participate in the recruitment exercise.
In a statement on October 19, the NCS said 397 applicants were disqualified during screening over issues involving substance abuse, age, physical fitness and documentation. The FCC subsequently called for the suspension of the exercise over alleged violations of the federal character principle.
