FCC Takes Customs CG to Court Over Alleged Recruitment Irregularities

ABUJA, Nigeria – The Federal Character Commission (FCC) has instituted criminal proceedings against the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and its Comptroller-General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, over alleged breaches of federal character requirements in the Service’s 2025/2026 recruitment exercise.

The case was reported before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, following disagreements over the Commission’s efforts to access recruitment records and monitor the process to ensure fair representation of states and geopolitical zones. The FCC alleged that the Customs Service failed to submit documents requested by the Commission, including nominal rolls, despite a formal request dated March 25, 2026. It also accused the Service of withholding information on different stages of the recruitment exercise from its monitoring team.

According to the Commission, the Service further disregarded an October 23, 2026 directive requesting the suspension of specified recruitment and training activities pending the FCC’s review. The Commission also alleged that Customs failed to provide clear recruitment criteria and comprehensive eligibility guidelines, making it difficult to assess how vacancies were allocated among states and geopolitical zones.

The FCC maintained that its authority to monitor recruitment, access relevant records and ensure equitable representation derives from its statutory responsibilities. “Monitoring recruitment, accessing relevant records, and ensuring equitable representation are statutory responsibilities, not optional requirements that public institutions may disregard,” the Commission said.

The proceedings bring renewed attention to the implementation of Nigeria’s federal character principle, which is intended to promote fair representation in public institutions and prevent the concentration of recruitment opportunities in particular states or regions.

However, the allegations against the Customs Service and its Comptroller-General remain subject to judicial determination. The court’s eventual findings will be important in establishing whether the recruitment exercise complied with the relevant legal and constitutional requirements.