Federal Character Commission Takes Customs to Court Over Recruitment

• The Federal Character Commission filed a four-count criminal charge against the Nigeria Customs Service and Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi at the Federal High Court in Abuja
• The charges stem from the Customs Service's alleged refusal to submit recruitment records, allow monitoring, or suspend its 2025/2026 recruitment exercise as directed
• The case follows widespread complaints from candidates who were shortlisted but excluded from the training programme despite completing screening and medical processes

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over eight years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues

FCT, Abuja - The Federal Character Commission (FCC) has taken the Nigeria Customs Service and its Comptroller-General, Bashir Adeniyi, to court over alleged breaches of federal character rules during the Service's 2025/2026 recruitment exercise.

Legit.ng previously reported on the FCC's directive to the Customs Service to suspend its recruitment training over the irregularities.

The prosecution lists three witnesses and 14 documents it plans to tender, including correspondence between both agencies and records of the FCC's October 22 press conference.

As reported by The Punch, the charge sheet, which was filed on Thursday, November 12, 2026, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, contains four counts.

What the FCC alleges

The first count accuses the Customs Service of refusing to hand over nominal rolls for its 2025 recruitment exercise after the commission wrote to request them on March 25, 2026.

Adeniyi is charged alongside the Service for allegedly allowing this non-compliance to persist.

"That you Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, being an officer of the 1st Defendant, recklessly, negligently or willfully acquiesced in the 1st Defendant's failure to comply with the directives of the Commission, thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(3)(b) of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act, Cap. F7, LFN 2004 and punishable under Section 15of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act, Cap. F7, LFN 2004," the first count read.

The second count covers the period between September 14 and October 7, 2026, during which the FCC says the Customs Service neither invited the commission nor submitted to its monitoring of key recruitment stages.

Under the third count, the commission alleges that the Service ignored a directive, contained in a letter dated October 23, 2026, to suspend all recruitment and training activities pending a review. The FCC says the Customs Service pressed ahead regardless and failed to preserve relevant records.

The fourth count centres on the Service's alleged failure to supply clear eligibility criteria and comprehensive recruitment guidelines between January 30 and October 20, 2026 — a gap the commission says made it impossible to track how vacancies were distributed across states and zones.

All charges are brought under Section 14(3) of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act, Cap. F7, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and carry penalties under Section 15 of the same law.

Background to the dispute

The legal action follows a broader row over how the Customs Service handled its recent recruitment round. The Service announced that 3,852 candidates emerged successful from a pool of 573,680 applications, with final lists for the Superintendent, Inspectorate and Customs Assistant cadres published between July 28 and 30, 2026.

Complaints subsequently poured in from candidates who said they completed screening and medical assessments but were left off training invitation lists, while others whose names did not appear on the published final list allegedly received invitations.

The Service later acknowledged screening issues involving 397 applicants and opened a case-by-case review process, with Adeniyi ordering a reassessment of individual complaints. The Service maintained, however, that appearing on a shortlist did not guarantee enlistment.

CDCFIB opens recruitment portal for final stage

Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that CDCFIB announced the final stage of its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, with the portal open from October 28 to November 14, 2026.

Successful candidates must review their uploaded documents and select a preferred screening location before proceeding further.

All candidates who pass the location selection stage must register on the NDLEA portal for mandatory substance abuse screening.

Source: Legit.ng