The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reportedly deleted a video in which its Comptroller-General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, congratulated successful recruitment candidates, amid growing controversy over the exclusion of hundreds of applicants from the next stage of the exercise.
The development follows complaints from candidates who claimed they had completed the required screening stages and found their names on the published recruitment list but had yet to receive invitations for basic training scheduled to begin on Friday, October 9, 2026.
According to reports, more than 500 applicants are affected, with some expressing uncertainty about their recruitment status after invitations to attend training reportedly stopped being issued.
Some of the candidates claimed they had passed the computer-based test, physical examinations and initial screening, accepted offers through the recruitment portal and subsequently saw their names published among successful applicants.
Several also said they had resigned from their previous jobs, trained replacements or incurred significant expenses after believing they had secured positions in the service.
Customs Explains Why Some Candidates Were Left Out
The controversy has prompted questions about the recruitment process and whether the publication of candidates’ names amounted to confirmation of employment.
However, the Nigeria Customs Service has maintained that appearing on the published list does not automatically guarantee appointment or admission into the training college.
Customs spokesperson Abdullahi Maiwada explained that further screening and verification were necessary before candidates could proceed to training. These checks include medical assessments, drug tests, physical fitness evaluations and verification of credentials.
The service said applicants who fail to satisfy the required standards could be disqualified even after progressing through earlier stages of the exercise.
Applicants Await Clarity
For affected candidates, the uncertainty has raised concerns about the transparency of the recruitment process, particularly for those who claim to have completed multiple stages before being excluded from training.
The reported deletion of the Comptroller-General’s congratulatory video has added another layer to the controversy, although the reason for removing the video has not been independently established.
The recruitment exercise began in December 2024 and attracted more than 573,000 applications for vacancies across different cadres. The service subsequently announced 3,852 successful candidates in August 2026.
As questions continue to emerge, affected applicants will be looking to the Customs Service for clearer explanations about their individual status and the criteria used to determine who proceeds to training.
