The Nigeria Customs Service on Tuesday published the final list of admitted candidates for its 2024/2025 intake, with merely 3,852 jobseekers earning positions from a massive pool of 573,680 individuals who sought employment.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, who announced the list during a press conference in Abuja, noted that the exercise recorded unprecedented competition in the history of the agency, with barely 0.67 per cent of candidates securing placement.
Adeniyi clarified that the shortlisted individuals were distributed across the agency’s three entry tiers, including 1,275 for the Superintendent Cadre, 367 for the Inspectorate Cadre, and 2,210 for the Customs Assistant Cadre.
He noted that the statement signaled the end of a hiring process that commenced in December 2024 and was prolonged due to the massive volume of submissions, operational hurdles, and the imperative to guarantee a transparent selection framework.
The recruitment drive spanned 20 months, from its inauguration in December 2024 to the release of the final roster in August 2026.
“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 mentioned that the agency received an unprecedented volume of submissions, all of which required thorough multi-stage screening prior to outputting the final roster.
“I owe you an explanation rather than an excuse. Several factors extended the timeline. 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,” he said.
The Comptroller-General added that officer retirements and leadership transitions during the period further strained the administrative capacity of the agency to conclude the drive earlier.
“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 2026 rather than in March,” he said.
The Customs chief underscored the intense competitiveness that characterized the drive, observing that thousands of qualified citizens failed to get hired purely due to space limitations.
He noted that the global acceptance ratio revealed that just one applicant was selected for every 148 submissions.
“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,” Adeniyi said.
The Superintendent Cadre gathered 276,995 submissions for 1,275 slots, equaling one successful applicant per 217 hopefuls.
The Inspectorate Cadre proved to be the most tough division, recording 128,604 entries for a mere 367 slots, indicating one successful candidate out of every 350 applicants.
The Customs Assistant Cadre, which offered the largest number of positions, logged 168,081 entries for 2,210 openings, amounting to one successful candidate per 76 applicants.
Also see: Customs Shifts to Yearly Enlistment Starting 2026
Adeniyi urged unselected hopefuls not to lose heart, reassuring them that another window would open sooner than anticipated. “I want to speak directly to the more than 560,000 Nigerians who applied and whose names are not on this list. 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. As I will explain shortly, the next opportunity is not years away,” he said.
The Comptroller-General also revealed that the selection procedure adhered strictly to the Federal Character principle, with all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory represented on the published roster.
He stated that each state received a uniform distribution of 105 slots, comprising 35 openings in the Superintendent Cadre, 10 in the Inspectorate Cadre, and 60 in the Customs Assistant Cadre.
“The allocation is equal across states by design. Each of the 36 states receives an identical number of places in each cadre.
“No state received more than another. Not one place was allocated at the discretion of any officer of this Service. The Federal Character principle has been applied in full,” Adeniyi said.
The Federal Capital Territory was assigned 72 openings based on the official distribution framework.
Analyzing by geopolitical zones, the North-West secured 735 slots, whereas the North-Central obtained 702 positions, inclusive of the FCT quota.
The North-East, South-South, and South-West zones were allocated 630 slots apiece, while the South-East received 525 positions.
Adeniyi shared that female candidates accounted for 839 of the admitted applicants, constituting 21.8 per cent of the entire intake.
He highlighted that this percentage slightly exceeded the proportion of female entries, demonstrating that women had a marginally higher selection rate compared to men.
“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.
The Customs boss detailed that 121,479 women submitted forms, resulting in 839 eventual selections, which translates to one successful candidate out of every 144 female applicants.
For male candidates, 3,011 individuals were picked out of 452,198 submissions, representing one successful candidate per 150 male applicants.
However, he conceded that the agency needs to take proactive measures to urge greater female participation in prospective recruitment drives, particularly for operations-focused roles.
“The Service is not content to leave the matter there. We intend to work more deliberately on attracting qualified women into the enforcement stream in future exercises because a Customs administration that reflects the country it serves is a stronger administration,” Adeniyi said.
The Comptroller-General emphasized that the new recruits would bolster the future workforce of the agency, noting that the average age of accepted candidates was 26 years.
He added that those chosen will form the core of the organization as it evolves toward a modern, tech-focused customs system.
“This is a young intake. The median age of the successful candidates is 26 years.
“These officers will carry the Service through the next three decades of its work, and they are entering at a point when Customs administration worldwide is being reshaped by technology, data and automated risk management,” he said.
Adeniyi cautioned successful candidates and the public against fraudsters attempting to exploit the hiring process by demanding monetary bribes for placements.
He stressed that entry into the Nigeria Customs Service is entirely cost-free, and anyone soliciting funds in exchange for a job should be reported immediately.
“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,” he said.
Selected candidates, he noted, will be notified directly using the contact details provided during registration and should strictly rely on verified agency channels.
The Comptroller-General extended his congratulations to the successful applicants, remarking that they earned their spots after outperforming over half a million citizens.
“To the 3,852 men and women whose names appear on this list: congratulations. You have earned your place in a field of more than half a million,” Adeniyi said.
“You are joining a Service with a proud tradition and a demanding standard, and you will be held to that standard from your first day.”
The Nigeria Customs Service recruitment exercise launched in December 2024 to strengthen operational capacity following staff retirements and expanded mandates tied to trade facilitation, border monitoring, revenue collection, and anti-smuggling enforcement.
This recent intake aligns with ongoing organisational reforms focused on advancing automation, risk-based enforcement, and operational productivity across Nigeria’s borders and maritime ports.
