FCC Files Charges Against Customs CG Over Failure to Provide 2025/2026 Recruitment Information

The Federal Character Commission (FCC) has filed a four-count criminal charge against the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and its Comptroller-General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, over alleged violations of federal character requirements in the agency’s 2025/2026 recruitment exercise.

The charge sheet was reportedly filed on Thursday, November 12, 2026, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

According to the charges, the commission accused the Customs Service and its Comptroller-General of failing to provide relevant recruitment records, preventing the FCC from monitoring the exercise and disregarding its directive to suspend recruitment and training activities.

In one of the counts, the commission alleged that the NCS failed to submit the nominal rolls for its 2025 recruitment exercise despite receiving a formal request dated March 25, 2026.

The FCC also accused Adeniyi of recklessly, negligently or wilfully allowing the service to disregard the commission’s request.

Another count alleged that the Customs Service and its Comptroller-General failed to invite or submit themselves to the commission for monitoring of relevant stages of the 2025/2026 recruitment exercise between September 14 and October 7, 2026.

The commission further alleged that the service continued with recruitment and training activities despite receiving a directive dated October 23, 2026, ordering the suspension of the exercise pending a review.

The FCC said the alleged actions prevented it from carrying out its statutory oversight responsibilities, including examining recruitment records and determining whether vacancies were distributed in accordance with federal character requirements.

The legal action follows earlier complaints by the commission over the recruitment process. In October, the FCC raised concerns about candidates whose names reportedly appeared on the published final recruitment list but were not invited for training.

The commission had also demanded access to recruitment records, including applications, examination results, screening documents, final selection lists and training invitations.

The charges were brought under provisions of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act, Cap. F7, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

The allegations have yet to be determined by the court. Neither the filing of the charges nor the allegations amount to a finding of guilt against the Customs Service or its Comptroller-General.