The Nigeria Customs Service has begun reassessing the cases of 397 recruitment applicants disqualified during its recent screening exercise.
The review follows complaints from candidates who said they had been shortlisted but were prevented from proceeding to the service’s training college.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, ordered the reassessment after meeting some of the affected applicants.
Customs spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, said the exercise would give candidates with genuine grievances an opportunity to have their cases reconsidered.
He explained that inclusion on the recruitment shortlist did not constitute final employment, as candidates were still required to meet the service’s screening requirements.
These include document verification, physical fitness assessments, medical examinations, age checks and drug screening.
The service attributed some of the disqualifications to concerns involving substance abuse, physical fitness, medical records, age and irregularities in submitted documents.
Affected applicants have been directed to forward their details and complaints to helpdesk@customs.gov.ng for consideration.
However, the service cautioned that the review would not automatically qualify any candidate for admission into the training college.
It added that applicants found to have committed offences, including certificate fraud, could face legal action.
The development comes amid concerns from candidates who said they had expected to proceed to training after completing earlier recruitment stages and finding their names on the published shortlist.
The Customs Service maintained that the reassessment would address legitimate complaints without compromising its recruitment standards.
