The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has invited 3,852 successful candidates for physical screening and documentation as it concludes its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise. The screening exercise will take place at the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, Abuja.
The development was announced on Tuesday in a statement issued by the Deputy Comptroller of Customs and National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi.
The Service directed all shortlisted candidates to appear on the dates assigned to their respective states and cadres, stressing that attendance is compulsory.
Candidates are required to come with the original and photocopies of their relevant documents, including their National Identification Number (NIN), original birth certificate or declaration of age, and educational certificates such as O’Level, ND, HND or degree certificates, where applicable.
They are also expected to present a certificate of state of origin, two recent passport photographs, a completed guarantor’s form and an NYSC certificate, where applicable. The candidates were further instructed to wear a white T-shirt, shorts and canvas shoes for the physical screening.
The Customs Service warned that any candidate who fails to appear as scheduled could be disqualified from the recruitment process. The latest development comes nearly two years after the recruitment exercise commenced in December 2024. The prolonged recruitment process had generated concerns among applicants, prompting the Customs management to apologise for the delay when the final list was released in August.
According to Adeniyi, the recruitment exercise attracted 573,680 applications, making it one of the most competitive recruitment exercises in the history of the Service. Only 3,852 candidates were eventually selected for appointment across three cadres, representing a success rate of 0.67 per cent, or approximately one successful candidate for every 148 applicants.
The Superintendent Cadre accounted for 1,275 successful candidates from 276,995 applications, while 367 candidates were selected for the Inspectorate Cadre from 128,604 applications. The Customs Assistant Cadre had the highest number of successful candidates, with 2,210 selected from 168,081 applications.
The figures mean that competition was toughest in the Inspectorate Cadre, where approximately one candidate was selected for every 350 applicants. In the Superintendent Cadre, the ratio was about one successful candidate to 217 applicants, while the Customs Assistant Cadre had roughly one successful candidate for every 76 applicants.
Earlier in the recruitment process, shortlisted candidates were required to update their information on the recruitment portal, upload medical certificates of fitness issued by government-recognised hospitals and accept their provisional offers of appointment.
With the physical screening and documentation now underway, candidates who successfully complete the exercise are expected to receive further instructions on the next stages of the recruitment process. The Customs Service also renewed its warning against fraudsters seeking to exploit applicants.
Adeniyi stressed that recruitment into the Service was entirely free and advised candidates not to pay anyone in exchange for employment. “No candidate has paid, and no candidate should pay, any person or group for a place on this list,” he said, warning that anyone who solicits money on behalf of the Service should be reported to the appropriate authorities.
The Comptroller-General also announced plans to introduce an annual recruitment cycle for the Service, ending the previous practice of conducting recruitment irregularly. According to him, future recruitment exercises will follow a predictable yearly schedule and are expected to be completed within one calendar year, from advertisement to the release of the final list. The 2026 recruitment exercise is expected to commence later this year.
