The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has deleted a video from its official Facebook page featuring Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC) Bashir Adewale Adeniyi congratulating successful candidates in the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise. The video was published on July 27, 2026, alongside the announcement of the final list of 3,852 successful candidates. The deletion has raised concerns among candidates who claim they were among those selected but have yet to receive invitations for training.
The recruitment exercise, which attracted over 573,000 applications, was described by the CGC as one of the most competitive in the history of the NCS. The final list included 1,275 candidates for the Superintendent Cadre, 367 for the Inspector Cadre, and 2,210 for the Customs Assistant Cadre. The CGC had apologized for the lengthy recruitment process and assured applicants that every candidate on the list had undergone several stages of scrutiny.
Candidates who spoke with SaharaReporters expressed concern over the deletion of the video, which they relied on as confirmation of their selection. They claimed to have completed documentation and medical screening as instructed by the Customs Service. The candidates also alleged that some successful applicants were unable to travel to Abuja for documentation and physical screening due to distance, insecurity, and financial constraints.
The controversy has sparked allegations of name substitution in the recruitment exercise. The affected candidates are questioning why some of them have not received invitations for training scheduled to begin on October 9. The NCS had announced that recruitment would henceforth become an annual exercise, providing another opportunity for qualified Nigerians who were not selected in the 2024/2025 exercise.
A check by SaharaReporters showed that the video was no longer available on the agency's Facebook platform as of 10:45 am on Friday. The candidates believe the video provided clear evidence that the names published on July 27 represented the final successful candidates who had secured employment with the service.
The CGC had addressed the hundreds of thousands of applicants whose names did not appear on the final list, stating that they were not rejected but unlucky in a field of extraordinary competition. He also disclosed that the 2026 recruitment exercise was expected to commence later in the year, providing another opportunity for qualified Nigerians.
The deletion of the video has heightened concerns among candidates, who are now questioning the authenticity of the recruitment process. The NCS has yet to comment on the allegations of name substitution and the deletion of the video. The incident has raised concerns about the transparency and credibility of the recruitment exercise.
Key points
- The Nigeria Customs Service has deleted a congratulatory video for successful candidates in the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, sparking concerns over alleged name substitution.
- The recruitment exercise attracted over 573,000 applications and was described as one of the most competitive in the history of the NCS.
- Candidates are questioning why some of them have not received invitations for training scheduled to begin on October 9.
