The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has released the final list of successful candidates for its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, with only 3,852 applicants selected from 573,680 applications received nationwide.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, announced the outcome during a media briefing on Tuesday, saying the successful candidates were recruited into the Superintendent, Inspectorate and Customs Assistant cadres, with all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory represented.
Adeniyi apologised for the delay in concluding the recruitment process, explaining that the large volume of applications, extensive verification procedures and significant retirements within the Service contributed to the extended timeline.
According to him, every shortlisted candidate underwent multiple stages of screening, including application review, computer-based testing and verification of credentials against the National Identity database before the final list was compiled. Successful candidates will now proceed to physical and medical screening before a final review by the Customs Board.
“I am pleased to announce the release of the final list of successful candidates in the 2024/2025 Recruitment Exercise of the Nigeria Customs Service. A total of 3,852 candidates have been offered places across the three cadres of entry,” Adeniyi said.
The Customs boss disclosed that the exercise recorded an overall success rate of 0.67 per cent, equivalent to roughly one successful applicant for every 148 candidates. The Superintendent Cadre received 276,995 applications for 1,275 vacancies, while the Inspectorate Cadre attracted 128,604 applications for 367 positions, making it the most competitive category. The Customs Assistant Cadre recorded 168,081 applications for 2,210 vacancies.
Adeniyi encouraged unsuccessful applicants not to lose hope, noting that many met the recruitment requirements but could not be accommodated because of limited vacancies.
“You were not rejected; you were unlucky in a field of extraordinary competition,” he said.
He said the recruitment reflected the Service’s commitment to national representation, with each state allocated 105 slots across the three cadres, while the Federal Capital Territory received 72 slots under the approved formula.
The Comptroller-General also revealed that 839 women, representing 21.8 per cent of the successful candidates, were recruited. He noted that female applicants recorded a slightly higher success rate than male applicants in the overall exercise.
According to him, the median age of successful candidates is 26 years, with nearly three-quarters of the recruits below the age of 30, positioning the Service to build a technology-driven workforce for the future.
Adeniyi further announced that the Nigeria Customs Service will now conduct recruitment annually, with the 2026 recruitment exercise scheduled to commence later this year.
He urged successful candidates to rely only on official communication channels and warned applicants against paying anyone for recruitment.
“Recruitment into the Nigeria Customs Service is free. Anyone who solicits payment on our behalf is a criminal and should be reported,” he said.
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