The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has ordered a case-by-case reappraisal of recruitment complaints after hundreds of shortlisted candidates were screened out and denied entry into the training college.
The directive follows a direct intervention by the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who met with a delegation of the aggrieved applicants to address growing concerns over the transparency of the exercise.
Multi-Stage Screening Disqualifies 397 Applicants
The Service clarified that inclusion in the final recruitment shortlist does not automatically guarantee enlistment, as candidates must navigate multiple mandatory verification layers. These include credential checks, physical and endurance assessments, medical examinations, age verification, and drug screening.
During the physical screening exercise, inspectors identified critical infractions among 397 applicants, leading to their immediate disqualification. The recorded grounds for rejection included:
- Substance abuse (excluding cigarettes and alcohol)
- Physical unfitness and conflicting medical records
- Age discrepancies and documentation irregularities
- Selection process manipulation and procedural irregularities
New Appeals Window Opened
To address legitimate grievances while protecting the integrity of its intake, the NCS has launched a formal review channel. Aggrieved candidates are urged to forward their comprehensive details and accurate complaints to the designated email address: [email protected].
Fresh Screening and Legal Warning
The Service, via a statement released October 19, 2026, signed by Deputy Comptroller and National Public Relations Officer Abdullahi Maiwada, PhD, emphasized that the petition window does not constitute a waiver of admission criteria or a guarantee of training placement.
Candidates who leverage this appeal window will be subjected to a complete and fresh screening exercise.
Furthermore, the NCS issued a strict legal warning: any investigation that establishes criminal conduct—specifically certificate fraud, forgery, or identity theft—will result in the immediate referral of the involved individuals to law enforcement agencies for criminal prosecution.
The management reaffirmed its commitment to a credible, transparent, and accountable recruitment process, stating it will not compromise the operational standards required for personnel tasked with national security, border protection, and revenue collection.