Customs commence physical screening for 3,852 successful candidates

By Benson Daniel

The Nigeria Customs Service has moved into the final stretch of its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, with 3,852 successful candidates now undergoing physical screening and documentation.

The exercise is being conducted at the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College in Gwagwalada, where candidates are expected to present themselves for the next stage of the recruitment process.

For many of those involved, the screening marks the end of a long wait. The recruitment exercise began in December 2024 and attracted an extraordinary 573,680 applications for the available positions.

Only 3,852 candidates made the final list, putting the overall success rate at about 0.67 per cent. In other words, roughly one person was selected for every 148 applications received.

The successful candidates were drawn from three entry cadres. They include 1,275 positions in the Superintendent Cadre, 367 in the Inspectorate Cadre and 2,210 in the Customs Assistant Cadre.

The Service has directed candidates to appear with both original and photocopies of their relevant documents. These include their National Identification Number, birth certificate or declaration of age, educational certificates and certificate of state of origin.

Candidates who are required to provide them must also present their NYSC certificates, alongside two recent passport photographs and a completed guarantor’s form.

There is also a prescribed dress code for the exercise. Candidates are expected to report in a white T-shirt, shorts and canvas shoes.

Customs has warned that attendance is compulsory and candidates must report on the dates assigned to their respective states and cadres. Failure to appear as scheduled could result in disqualification.

The screening comes after several stages of assessment, including application screening, computer based testing and verification of candidates’ credentials.

The recruitment process had taken considerably longer than many applicants expected, with the Customs management previously attributing the delay partly to the unusually high number of applications and the extensive verification required before the final list could be released.

The scale of the competition gives some indication of the pressure surrounding public sector recruitment in Nigeria. More than half a million people applied for fewer than 4,000 available places, leaving thousands of unsuccessful applicants out of the final selection.

The Service has also moved to address one of the concerns raised by applicants during the prolonged exercise by announcing that recruitment will henceforth be conducted annually.

The 2026 recruitment exercise is expected to commence later this year and, unlike the current cycle, is intended to run from advertisement to the release of the final list within one calendar year.

For those now attending the physical screening, however, the focus is on completing the final requirements. The successful candidates still have to clear the relevant stages before receiving further instructions on their entry into the Service.

Customs has meanwhile reiterated that its recruitment process is free and warned candidates against anyone demanding money in exchange for employment.

With the physical screening now underway, a recruitment exercise that began almost two years ago is finally moving towards completion.