The Kano State House of Assembly has accused the Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS), of bias in its on-going recruitment, alleging that Lagos and other South-West states received far more slots than the entire northern region.
Majority Leader, Lawan Hussaini Dala, during yesterday’s plenary, described the exercise as a “gross injustice”, claiming it violated the Federal Character principle. He said Lagos alone got 207 of the 1,785 total slots, while the South-West secured 812—more than all northern states combined. Kano, he added, got only 31.
In response, the NCS dismissed a viral recruitment list as fake, insisting its process remains transparent, merit-based, and compliant with federal character guidelines.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Service said all official updates regarding the recruitment exercise were communicated directly to shortlisted applicants through the NCS Recruitment Update Portal.
“The Service wishes to categorically state that the publication did not originate from the Nigeria Customs Service or any of its authorised communication channels.
“Members of the public, particularly applicants in the ongoing recruitment exercise, are therefore advised to disregard the circulating information in its entirety.
“For clarity, the NCS recruitment process commenced with an official advertisement on 27th December 2024, through which a total of 573,523 applications were received across the Superintendent, Inspectorate, and Customs Assistant cadres. Following a rigorous documentary screening, 286,697 candidates were shortlisted and invited to participate in the first phase of the Computer-Based Test (CBT), which was conducted in batches to ensure fairness and system efficiency.
“While candidates from all cadres participated in the initial CBT, only successful applicants under the Superintendent Cadre were invited to proceed to the second phase of the test.
“This stage, which will hold across designated centres within the six geopolitical zones, aligns with candidates’ states of origin and forms part of the Service’s commitment to transparency, merit, and inclusiveness in its recruitment process”.
The agency said official updates are issued only through its recruitment portal and reaffirmed its commitment to a fair selection process.
The Assembly has directed its relevant committee to investigate the recruitment figures.
