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 breaches of federal character requirements in the Service’s 2025/2026 recruitment exercise.
The charge sheet, sighted by PUNCH Online and shared by Nigeria Startup News on Friday, was filed on Thursday at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The commission accused the NCS and Adeniyi of withholding recruitment records, preventing its monitoring of the exercise and disregarding a directive to suspend recruitment and training activities.
In the first count, the FCC alleged that the Service failed to submit nominal rolls for its 2025 recruitment exercise despite a request dated March 25, 2026. It also accused Adeniyi of allowing the failure.
The second count alleged that the NCS and its Comptroller-General failed to submit themselves for FCC monitoring during stages of the 2025/2026 exercise between September 14 and October 7, 2026.
In the third count, the commission accused the defendants of continuing recruitment and training after receiving an October 23, 2026 letter directing the Service to suspend the exercise pending review. It also alleged that the Service failed to preserve records and allow monitoring.
The fourth count concerned the alleged failure to provide eligibility criteria and recruitment guidelines, despite repeated requests between January 30 and October 20, 2026. The FCC said this prevented it from determining the state and zonal distribution of vacancies.
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.
The commission listed three witnesses: Committee on Financial Services Chairman Abdulwasiu K. Bawa-Allah, member Isa Jibrin Bida and clerk Usman Yaruwa.
It also listed 14 documents, including correspondence between the FCC and NCS, a report on the Service and records of the commission’s October 22 press conference. The prosecution said it might call additional witnesses.
The case follows complaints from applicants who said they were shortlisted for the Customs recruitment exercise but later excluded from the training programme.
What applicants should know
The filing of charges does not mean the court has found the NCS or its Comptroller-General guilty. The allegations will be tested in court. Applicants affected by the recruitment process should follow updates from the FCC, NCS and the court.
