Customs recruits 3,852, adopts annual hiring cycle
August 5, 2026 4:09 am
The Nigeria Customs Service on Tuesday released the final list of successful candidates for its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, with only 3,852 applicants securing employment from 573,680 applications, as it announced a shift to annual recruitment.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this during a press briefing at the Service headquarters in Abuja. He said the successful candidates comprised 1,275 for the Superintendent Cadre, 367 for the Inspectorate Cadre and 2,210 for the Customs Assistant Cadre.
According to him, the recruitment exercise, which opened in December 2024, concluded after 20 months due to the unprecedented volume of applications, administrative challenges and multiple stages of screening and verification.
“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: 1,275 in the Superintendent Cadre, 367 in the Inspectorate Cadre and 2,210 in the Customs Assistant Cadre. This is the final list, and it concludes the exercise that opened in December 2024.
“Let me begin with the matter uppermost in the minds of many of the young Nigerians who applied, and of their families. This exercise has taken longer than any of us intended.
“On behalf of the Service, I offer my sincere apologies to every applicant who has waited, and to the parents and guardians who waited with them. That wait was real, and I do not diminish it.”
Adeniyi said the Service received 573,680 applications for the available positions, with every application subjected to screening, computer-based examinations and verification against the national identity database.
“The competition was severe. From 573,680 applications, 3,852 candidates were selected. That is an overall success rate of 0.67 per cent, or roughly one place for every 148 applicants,” he said.
The Superintendent Cadre attracted 276,995 applications for 1,275 positions, representing one successful candidate for every 217 applicants. The Inspectorate Cadre was the most competitive, recording 128,604 applications for 367 vacancies, or one successful applicant for every 350 candidates. The Customs Assistant Cadre received 168,081 applications for 2,210 positions, translating to one successful applicant for every 76 candidates.
Adeniyi said the recruitment complied fully with the Federal Character principle, with all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory represented.
Each state received 105 positions comprising 35 Superintendent, 10 Inspectorate and 60 Customs Assistant slots, while the Federal Capital Territory received 72 positions.
He added that 839 women, representing 21.8 per cent of the successful candidates, secured appointments.
“Women made up 21.2 per cent of the applications received. Their share of the places offered therefore slightly exceeds their share of the applications,” he said, adding that the Service would intensify efforts to attract more qualified women into enforcement roles.
The Comptroller-General said the median age of successful candidates was 26 years, noting that they would support the Service’s transition to technology-driven customs administration.
He warned applicants against fraudsters demanding payment for recruitment, stressing that employment into the Service remained free. “Recruitment into the Nigeria Customs Service is free. No candidate has paid, and no candidate should pay any person or group for a place on this list.
“Anyone who solicits payment on our behalf is a criminal, and should be reported to the Service and to the security agencies.”
Adeniyi also announced that the Service had adopted an annual recruitment cycle, ending the previous practice of conducting recruitment exercises at irregular intervals.
“The Nigeria Customs Service is moving to an annual recruitment cycle. Recruitment will no longer be an occasional event undertaken every several years. It will be a standing, predictable, yearly process.
“The 2026 Recruitment Exercise will open later this year, and it is my firm intention that it will be completed within a single calendar year, from advertisement to final list.”
He explained that the systems, screening architecture and verification processes developed during the just-concluded exercise would make future recruitment faster and more efficient.
“The systems, the screening architecture and the verification processes built during this exercise now exist, and they will not have to be built again. The delays of this cycle were in significant part the cost of constructing that machinery. That cost has now been paid.”
He said the annual recruitment model would improve manpower planning by enabling the Service to replace retiring officers promptly while giving qualified Nigerians regular opportunities to apply.
Damilola Aina is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over five years of experience covering energy, business, investment, infrastructure, and property sectors. He specializes in producing well-researched and insightful reports that inform readers and provide clarity on complex topics. Damilola’s work demonstrates practical newsroom experience, editorial insight, and a strong commitment to accurate and engaging journalism.
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