2024/2025 Recruitment Exercise: Customs Releases Final List of Successful Candidates, Selects 3,852 Across Three Entry Cadres

. As CGC Adeniyi Apologises for Delay, Unveils Annual Recruitment Cycle.

 

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has released the final list of successful candidates for its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, Offering 3852 applicants places across its three entry cadres, while announcing plans to introduce an annual recruitment cycle beginning this year.

Speaking at a press briefing held on Tuesday, 4 August 2026, at the NCS Headquarters Maitama, Abuja, the Comptroller -General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi MFR made this known stating 1,275 candidates were selected for the Superintendent Cadre, 367 in the Inspectorate Cadre and 2,210 in the Customs Assistant Cadre.

He noted that the final list marked the conclusion of the recruitment exercise that opened in December 2024.

Adeniyi explained that out of the 573,680 applications, the successful candidates were selected through a transparent, merit-based process across the three entry cadres, ensuring representation from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in line with the Federal Character Principle.

He also apologized for the delayed in the process stressing several factors extended the timeline.

The CGC stated that the applications received was extraordinary. “The volume alone was extraordinary: the Service received 573,680 applications for 3,852 places. Every one of those applications had to be received, verified and assessed. The Service also carried, over this same period, an unusually high rate of retirement and turnover among its senior and management cadre, which placed real strain on the administrative machinery that runs an exercise of this size,” the CGC stressed, “Above all, however, the time was taken because the Service was determined that the right candidates should emerge. Every candidate on this list has passed through several distinct layers of scrutiny: application screening, computer-based examination, and verification of credentials against the national identity database. Where a record did not reconcile, we went back and checked it again. Successful candidates will now proceed to physical and medical assessment, and to a final review at Board level. That is the honest reason this list is issued in August rather than in March”.

Providing a breakdown, he said the selected candidates reflects an overall success rate of 0.67 per cent, which is equivalent to one place for every 148 applicants from the applications received.

“The intensity differed by cadre. The Superintendent Cadre drew 276,995 applications for 1,275 places, a ratio of one in 217. The Inspectorate Cadre was the most competitive of the 3: 128,604 applications for 367 places, or one in 350. The Customs Assistant Cadre received 168,081 applications for 2,210 places, one in 76,” he stated.

The CGC further encouraged more than 560,000 unsuccessful candidates to remain engaged with the Service. “You were not rejected; you were unlucky in a field of extraordinary competition. Many of you met every requirement the Service set. There were simply not enough places. I encourage you to remain engaged with the Service, to keep your credentials current, and to apply again”.

On the distribution of vacancies, Adeniyi said each of the 36 states received 105 positions—35 in the Superintendent Cadre, 10 in the Inspectorate Cadre and 60 in the Customs Assistant Cadre—while the FCT received 72 positions in line with the approved allocation formula.

“No state received more than another. The variation among geopolitical zones is solely because of the number of states in each zone. Not one position was allocated at the discretion of any officer of the Service. The Federal Character Principle was applied in full,” he said.

The CGC also highlighted improvements in gender inclusion, revealing that 839 women, representing 21.8 per cent of the successful candidates, secured appointments.

On gender inclusivity, he explained that women accounted for 21.2 per cent of total applications, meaning their success rate slightly exceeded their application rate.

“I want to place that figure in its proper context. Women made up 21.2 per cent of the applications received. Their share of the places offered therefore slightly exceed their share of the applications, the exercise selected women at a rate marginally above the rate at which they applied.

Adeniyi attributed the lower overall female representation to the fact that about 85 per cent of available positions were in physically demanding enforcement and border operations, which attracted fewer female applicants.

He, however, pledged that the Service would intensify efforts to encourage more qualified women to apply for enforcement roles in future recruitment exercises.

The CGC further disclosed that the successful candidates represent a youthful workforce, with a median age of 26 years, while nearly three-quarters are below the age of 30.

According to him, the young intake will strengthen the Service’s long-term capacity as Customs operations increasingly rely on technology, data analytics and automated risk management.

“A woman who applied to this exercise stood a marginally better chance of selection than a man who applied. From 121,479 applications by women, 839 were selected: one in 144. From 452,198 applications by men, 3,011 were selected: one in 150.

The CGC further disclosed that the successful candidates represent a youthful workforce, with a median age of 26 years, while nearly three-quarters are below the age of 30.

According to him, the young intake will strengthen the Service’s long-term capacity as Customs operations increasingly rely on technology, data analytics and automated risk management.

In what he described as the most significant announcement of the briefing, Adeniyi said the Nigeria Customs Service would henceforth conduct annual recruitment exercises instead of waiting several years between intakes.

“The 2026 recruitment exercise will open later this year, and it is my intention that it will be completed within a single calendar year—from advertisement to publication of the final list.

 

“An annual recruitment cycle allows the Service to plan manpower needs more effectively while giving young Nigerians a predictable opportunity to apply every year rather than waiting several years for another exercise,” he said.

He advised successful candidates to await official communication through the contact details provided during registration and warned applicants to disregard fraudsters demanding payment, stressing that recruitment into the Nigeria Customs Service remains free of charge.