Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has accused the Nigerian judiciary of aiding the unlawful detention of poor citizens by failing to enforce the mandatory monthly inspections of police stations and detention facilities prescribed by law.

Speaking at the 1st NBA Western Zone Human Rights Summit in Ibadan on June 3, 2025, Falana said that despite the enactment of Section 34 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) in 2015, Chief Magistrates and Judges have neglected their duty to carry out monthly inspections.

According to Falana, the inaction of the judiciary has left the poor vulnerable to arbitrary arrests, torture, and prolonged detention, while wealthy individuals can afford legal representation to protect their rights.

“From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that visiting Chief Magistrates and Judges are empowered to order the release of detainees, or grant them bail or direct that they be arraigned in court,” he said.

According to Falana, since the passage of the ACJA, which should challenge illegal arrests and detentions, its protective measures have been observed in breach.

An investigation has revealed a disregard for the law within the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).

A senior official, Deputy Comptroller General Olaniyi Adisa Alajogun, has been accused of breaching service codes by remaining in office beyond the statutory retirement age of 60.

Sources within the Customs Service told SaharaReporters that Alajogun, who turned 60 on May 23, 2025, was due to retire fully on that same day.

A copy of the Customs statutory retirement list for 2025, exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, confirms that Alajogun (Service number 39279) was born on May 23, 1965, and began his service on August 31, 1990.

The document indicates that he was supposed to retire on May 23, 2025, citing age as the retirement condition. It also states that he should have gone on pre-retirement leave as of February 23, 2025.

However, sources allege that Alajogun has continued to act as if he were still an active member of the service, overseeing enforcement, inspection, and investigation activities despite having reached the mandatory retirement age.

“He was due for pre-retirement leave on February 23

, 2025, and full retirement on May 23, 2025,” one of the sources said.

“But Alajogun is still signing documents, and still carrying out his duties among others which should not happen.

“This is a total disregard for the laws guiding the Customs Service. His continued stay in office is setting a bad precedent, especially in the customs service,” said a dissatisfied staff member.

A Nigeria Customs Service circular dated May 7, 2025, with reference number HRD/2024/046, listed the names of officers who were either due for retirement or set to retire soon.

The document, signed by M.A. Yusuf, Acting Comptroller of Establishment, on behalf of the Deputy Comptroller-General (HRD), read: “I am directed to forward the attached list on the above subject matter as pre-retirement notice to all affected officers.

“In accordance with the Public Service Rule (PSR) No. 100238 and Federal Government circular No.63216/S.I/X/T; CR1/2001/5 of 20/03/2001, all affected officers due for retirement in 2025 are to disengage from the active service and proceed on three (3) months pre-retirement leave, three months to the effective date of retirement.

“All affected officers are to ensure compliance and forward their three months pre-retirement notice to the Comptroller General of Customs accordingly.

“Any observed error, omission or legitimate complaints should be forwarded to the office of the Comptroller General of Customs through the Deputy Comptroller General (HRD) on or before 30th Jul, 2024.

“Zonal Coordinators, Area Controllers and Unit Heads are requested to make the list available for circulation to all the affected officers in their respective Zones, Areas and Units.”

“This publication is for circulation within the Service,” it added.

The situation has raised concerns among staff about the integrity of the institution and created fertile ground for corruption, particularly in light of the controversial tenure of Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, who himself is reportedly due for retirement but has remained in office.

In February, the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions summoned Adeniyi to explain why some senior officers of the Service had refused to retire upon reaching the mandatory retirement age.

This development followed the review of a petition submitted by the Obasi-Pherson Help Foundation, which alleged that certain Assistant Comptrollers and Comptrollers were due for retirement but had blatantly refused to leave the service.

A statement issued by the Head of Media, House Committee on Public Petitions, Chooks Oko, named the affected officers as Imam, Umar, and Egwu, all Assistant Comptrollers, and Awe, Fatia, and Faith, all Comptrollers.

Issuing the summons, the Committee emphasized that the Comptroller-General, as a public officer, had a responsibility to clarify the situation to the Nigerian public.

“In this era, when most of our youths are seeking employment, it is unfair for those due for retirement to refuse to leave,” the Chairman of the Committee on Public Petitions, Mike Etaba, was quoted as saying.

Contrary to the Public Service Rules (PSR), FIJ exclusively reported in December 2024 that President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) under Adewale Adeniyi had extended the service years of 12 senior officers who were already due for retirement.

Among the beneficiaries of this extension were Michael Awe, the Comptroller of the Murtala Muhammed Cargo Command; Baba Imam, an Assistant Comptroller of Customs and Secretary to the NCS Board; Kayode Kolade, the Comptroller of the Seme Area Command; and Umar Isah Gusau, an Assistant Comptroller of Customs. These officers were supposed to have commenced their compulsory three-month pre-retirement leave, as stipulated by the PSR.

In June 2024, documents obtained by SaharaReporters revealed that Adewale Adeniyi had claimed two different dates of birth in various official documents at different times.

The documents showed that Adeniyi had used these different birth dates at various stages of his career to manipulate the system to his advantage.

For instance, when he was employed by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) in 1981, the customs boss listed January 19, 1964, as his date of birth on his curriculum vitae. He also used the same birth date when he applied for employment with the Nigerian Customs Service in 1990.

The documents revealed the customs boss turned 60 on January 19, 2024, by which time he should have retired based on public service rules.

Adeniyi now claims that he was born on January 13, 1966, in his curriculum vitae.

“He is still in service because he falsified his date of birth by changing it from January 19, 1964 to January 13, 1966,” a source told SaharaReporters at the time.

“If going by his real age, he should have retired from the federal service in January but he used his position and connections to falsify, alter and manipulate his records to attain this position.”

As if that was not enough, the documents also revealed that Adeniyi altered his years of service to remain in customs service.

He graduated from secondary school in 1979 when he took the West African School Certificate Examination and was employed into the service of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) in 1981 as a Public Relations Assistant.

Adeniyi worked as a public servant at the NRC from November 1981 to 1990 from where he was employed in the service of the NCS.

The documents showed he included his nine years of public service experience in his documentation form with the customs.

Adeniyi while documenting for the customs job in 1990 in ‘Details Of Employment Since Leaving School,’ wrote, “Nigerian Railway Corporation November 1981 to Date.”

His customs staff information form is numbered 39554. He was appointed into the customs service on 2-11-1990 as ASC (Assistant Superintendent of Customs).

Other information provided by Adeniyi showed he attended the University of Ife from October 1983 to June 1987, where he obtained a BSc in International Relations and the Nigerian Institute of Journalism from July 1989 to September 1989, and also from May 1990 to May 1990.

He also disclosed that he earned a certificate in Basic, Advanced Public Relations in 1989, adding that he learnt to speak French at Alliance Francaise in Ibadan, Oyo State.

He said he attended Modakeke High School from September 1974 to June 1979 and Ejigbo Baptist High School from September 1980 to June 1981.

Meanwhile, the Customs boss has denied the allegations.

In a statement issued last year, Adeniyi denied the reports that he had falsified his age, describing them as untrue.

He said the report might be aimed at distracting him but he would remain focused and committed to leading NCS well.

Sources within the Customs Service say that officers are increasingly frustrated, fueling discontent that could potentially escalate to strike action. Many feel the promotion system has become skewed, with allegations that Adewale is running the NCS as a personal enterprise or “household affair.”

This perception is reinforced by the widespread belief that only those who align with his interests are favored for promotion, fostering a culture of nepotism and disillusionment among the ranks.

When SaharaReporters reached out to the spokesman for the NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, for reaction, he simply said in a text message, “I am not aware of this development.”