The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has accused some applicants excluded from its ongoing recruitment exercise of attempting to secure employment through unofficial channels, as controversy continues over candidates who appeared on the published shortlist but were not invited for training.

Abdullahi Maiwada, the service’s national spokesperson, made the disclosure during an interview with BBC Hausa published on Friday, October 23.

Maiwada said the agency would reinstate any applicant found to have been wrongly removed from the recruitment process, but maintained that candidates who attempted to manipulate the exercise would not be allowed to proceed.

The dispute centres on the recruitment exercise for the 2024/2025 intake, which attracted 573,680 applications. The Customs Service announced 3,852 successful candidates across its Superintendent, Inspectorate and Customs Assistant cadres.

The service published the names of successful applicants in July before inviting candidates for physical screening and documentation in September at the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College in Gwagwalada, Abuja.

Complaints emerged after some applicants whose names appeared on the published list said they were subsequently excluded from the process or failed to receive invitations to attend training.

Some affected candidates alleged that people whose names were not on the original list had been invited instead, raising questions about how the final selection and training lists were compiled.

The Customs Service has maintained that appearing on the published shortlist does not amount to a final appointment, insisting that candidates must satisfy the required screening conditions before they can proceed to training.

Maiwada said the screening process included drug testing, age verification, medical assessments and the examination of applicants’ credentials and other documents.

He said some candidates were disqualified after medical examinations identified conditions including Hepatitis B and high blood pressure. Others reportedly failed age requirements, presented questionable credentials or did not meet other prescribed standards.

The agency had earlier disclosed that 397 applicants were screened out over issues involving substance use, physical fitness, medical records, age verification and documentation.

Customs also cited irregularities identified in the selection process as grounds for excluding some candidates.

Maiwada said applicants were expected to understand that an invitation to screening was not a guarantee of employment. He added that successful candidates would still have to meet the requirements of the training programme, including examinations, parade drills, firearms training and operational courses.

He also addressed reports that some applicants had resigned from their previous jobs after seeing their names on the shortlist, saying the service had warned candidates not to leave their employment before receiving final confirmation.

According to him, the agency advised those considering resignation to make appropriate arrangements with their existing employers rather than assume that inclusion on the list guaranteed appointment.

Despite defending the screening process, the service has acknowledged complaints from applicants who believe they were wrongly excluded.

Maiwada said the agency would investigate individual cases and promptly restore the names of candidates found to have been erroneously removed.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, had earlier directed a case-by-case review following complaints from affected applicants.

The review is intended to give candidates an opportunity to present their grievances and establish whether their exclusion was justified. Customs, however, has stressed that the process does not guarantee automatic admission into the training college.

Applicants who believe they were unfairly disqualified have been directed to submit their details and complaints through the service’s designated channel for assessment.

The recruitment controversy has also attracted the attention of the Federal Character Commission, which has called for the suspension of the exercise over alleged breaches of federal character requirements and concerns about its monitoring.

The commission has questioned why it was not invited to monitor the recruitment process and demanded access to relevant records to examine the selection of candidates and the distribution of opportunities among states.