Over 500 Customs Candidates Left Out of Training After Making Final List

A fresh crisis is brewing within the ongoing Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) recruitment exercise as more than 500 candidates who claim to have successfully completed the recruitment process and had their names published on the final list are being left out of invitations to commence training.

The affected candidates, who spoke to SaharaReporters, said they passed the Computer-Based Test (CBT), physical examinations and initial screening, accepted their appointments through the official Customs recruitment portal and subsequently saw their names published in national newspapers as successful candidates.

However, many of them say they have yet to receive invitations for the training scheduled to commence on Friday, October 9, 2026.

The development has caused anxiety among the affected candidates, many of whom said they resigned from their previous jobs, trained replacements and incurred significant financial expenses after believing that their appointments into the Nigeria Customs Service had been secured.

The candidates explained that invitations to the training appeared to have stopped since Monday, leaving hundreds of people who had completed the recruitment stages uncertain about their status.

Meanwhile, a document obtained by SaharaReporters shows that the Nigeria Customs Service shortlisted 35 candidates from each state of the federation, while 15 candidates were shortlisted from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to the candidates, they travelled to Abuja at considerable personal expense to complete documentation, physical screening and medical evaluation after their names were published on the final list.

“We passed both the CBT and physical exams, as well as the initial screening. We also accepted offer of appointment on the Customs Service portal,” one of them said.