Customs recruitment: HURIWA warns against federal character violations

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has accused the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) of conducting its ongoing 2025 recruitment exercise in secrecy, calling for transparency in the selection process.

The group also alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is perpetuating what it described as a pattern of systemic marginalisation and exclusion of the Igbo from key federal appointments and national structures.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Emmanuel Onwubiko, National Coordinator of HURIWA, challenged the Customs Service to publish the full list of candidates who participated in the recently concluded Computer-Based Test (CBT), along with their scores and states of origin.

He said the refusal of the agency to release such information undermines the principles of fairness and federal character as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.

According to HURIWA, the association had received numerous complaints from candidates and members of the public over a purported state-by-state shortlist circulating online, which appears to favour certain regions.

The group argued that the NCS should not dismiss the viral list as fake without publishing the authentic version.

“If the list currently circulating online is fake, where then is the authentic version? Nigerians deserve to know the truth.

“Those who sat for the recruitment examination have a right to see their results and how they were evaluated. Anything short of transparency and accountability in this process is unacceptable”, Onwubiko said.

The rights group maintained that employment into any federal agency must reflect the spirit and letter of the Federal Character principle, warning that the culture of secrecy and favouritism in recruitment processes has bred resentment, inequality, and distrust among citizens.

“Opacity in recruitment is not just a bureaucratic flaw; it is a constitutional infraction. The Customs Service cannot be funded by taxpayers from all parts of the country yet conduct its employment exercises like a private estate”, he said.

Beyond the recruitment controversy, HURIWA accused Tinubu’s administration of perpetuating what it called “systematic political and economic marginalisation” of the Igbo and the South-East region.

The group alleged that key appointments in security, revenue, and economic institutions have consistently excluded qualified Igbo officers, while tenure extensions have been used to block their progression.

It cited the recent one-year extension granted to Bashir Adeniyi, Comptroller-General of Customs as an example, alleging that an Igbo senior officer due for promotion was sidelined.

Similar extensions, the group said, have occurred in the Nigeria Police Force to prevent eligible Igbo officers from assuming leadership roles.

“These acts clearly violate the spirit of the Federal Character principle and sustain a culture of ethnic preference in governance,” HURIWA said.

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Onwubiko also condemned what it termed “selective justice” in the handling of national security issues, noting that while the Federal Government has released and reintegrated repentant terrorists and bandits in the North, Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), remains in detention.

“President Tinubu’s government continues to negotiate with terrorists in the North-West and release insurgents in the North-East, yet Nnamdi Kanu, whose alleged offences are political and non-violent, remains in custody. This is a glaring double standard that must end,” he noted.

HURIWA further accused the Federal and Lagos State governments of economic victimisation against the Igbo, citing the continued demolition of properties belonging to Igbo traders and landlords in Lagos.

The association described the demolitions as an orchestrated attempt to weaken the region’s entrepreneurial strength and called for an independent probe into all such actions.

The group also lamented the neglect of federal infrastructure in the South-East, particularly the poor state of roads and the absence of new major projects since 2023.

It accused the government of allowing insecurity to persist in the region, thereby crippling commerce and discouraging investors.

“These manifestations of systemic bias are not accidental. They represent a calculated effort to keep the South-East politically weakened, economically disadvantaged, and perpetually insecure”, HURIWA asserted.

The rights group demanded the immediate publication of a geo-political breakdown of all federal appointments, promotions, and tenure extensions made under the Tinubu administration.

It also called for a judicial inquiry into the Lagos demolitions and an end to arbitrary tenure extensions in security and paramilitary agencies.

To address the growing imbalance, HURIWA proposed the creation of a National Commission on Inclusion and Equity to monitor compliance with the Federal Character principle and ensure fair representation in public service, infrastructure distribution, and access to economic opportunities.

Reaffirming its commitment to Nigeria’s unity based on justice and the rule of law, HURIWA warned that the continuous marginalisation of any region poses a serious threat to national cohesion.

“President Tinubu must realise that no region can be perpetually subjugated. The Igbo have contributed immensely to Nigeria’s development and deserve fairness, not tokenism”, Onwubiko stated.