General News
Customs unveils final list of 3,852 recruits, promises yearly recruitment exercise
By Stella Odueme
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has concluded its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise with the release of the final list of 3,852 successful candidates, while announcing plans to commence annual recruitment beginning with the 2026 exercise.
The Comptroller-General of Customs made the announcement during a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, describing the recruitment process as one of the most rigorous in the Service’s history due to the overwhelming number of applications and extensive verification procedures.
According to him, the successful candidates include 1,275 officers recruited into the Superintendent Cadre, 367 into the Inspectorate Cadre and 2,210 into the Customs Assistant Cadre.
He apologised to applicants and their families for the delay in concluding the exercise, explaining that the Service had to process and verify 573,680 applications before arriving at the final list.
The Customs boss said every applicant underwent several stages of assessment, including application screening, computer-based testing and verification of credentials through the national identity database to ensure only qualified candidates emerged.
He noted that successful candidates would still undergo physical and medical examinations before receiving final approval by the Nigeria Customs Service Board.
Describing the competition as exceptionally fierce, the Comptroller-General said only 3,852 applicants were successful out of more than 573,000, representing a success rate of 0.67 per cent, or approximately one successful candidate for every 148 applicants.
He explained that the Inspectorate Cadre recorded the highest level of competition, with 128,604 applicants vying for just 367 vacancies, while the Superintendent Cadre attracted 276,995 applications for 1,275 positions.
The Customs Assistant Cadre received 168,081 applications for 2,210 available positions.
The Comptroller-General urged unsuccessful applicants not to be discouraged, noting that many met the required qualifications but could not be accommodated because of the limited number of vacancies.
He assured them that opportunities would soon reopen as the Service had adopted a new annual recruitment policy.
The Service also disclosed that all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory were represented in the recruitment in line with the Federal Character principle.
Each state received 105 positions across the three cadres, while the FCT was allocated 72 slots under the approved formula.
On gender representation, the Comptroller-General said 839 women, representing 21.8 per cent of the successful candidates, secured employment.
He noted that although women accounted for just over one-fifth of total applications, they achieved a slightly higher success rate than male applicants in the overall recruitment exercise.
He attributed the lower number of female recruits to the nature of available vacancies, explaining that about 85 per cent of positions were in physically demanding operational roles such as anti-smuggling patrols, border operations and field enforcement.
To improve gender balance, he said the Service would intensify efforts to encourage more women to pursue careers in operational customs duties.
The Comptroller-General further revealed that the recruitment exercise produced a youthful workforce, with a median age of 26 years and nearly 75 per cent of successful candidates below the age of 30.
He said the younger workforce would strengthen the Service’s capacity to adapt to modern customs administration driven by technology, data analytics and automated risk management systems.
Announcing a major policy shift, the Customs chief disclosed that recruitment into the Service would no longer be conducted intermittently but would become a yearly exercise.
He said the 2026 recruitment would commence later this year and would be completed within a single calendar year, as the systems established during the current exercise would significantly reduce future processing time.
The Comptroller-General advised successful candidates to await official communication from the Service and warned members of the public against fraudsters, stressing that recruitment into the Nigeria Customs Service is free and that anyone demanding payment should be reported to security agencies.
He congratulated the successful candidates on their achievement and reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to transparency, fairness and merit in future recruitment exercises while assuring unsuccessful applicants that another opportunity would soon be available.
The family of retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Frederick Ichako Omunu has announced that he will be laid to rest on Thursday, December 17, 2026, in Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, following his death at the age of 83.
The burial programme, jointly announced by the Omunu family of Uruto Quarters and the Omoba family of Urude Quarters, will feature a vigil Mass on December 16 and a funeral Mass on December 17 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Ozoro.
Retired ACP Frederick Ichako Omunu died in 2026 at the age of 83.
His burial is scheduled for December 17 in Ozoro, Delta State.
A vigil Mass will hold on December 16 at 4:00 p.m.
The funeral Mass is scheduled for December 17 at 10:00 a.m.
The deceased will be buried at his residence on Uruto Road, Ozoro.
The family has invited relatives, friends and well-wishers to the funeral ceremonies.
According to the funeral announcement, the vigil Mass will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, NDC Road, Ozoro.
On Thursday, December 17, the deceased’s body will leave General Hospital, Ozoro, at 7:30 a.m., with a brief stopover at his family compound.
The funeral Mass will follow at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, along NDC Road, Ozoro.
Omunu to Be Buried at His Ozoro Residence
Following the funeral Mass, Omunu will be laid to rest at his residence at No. 80 Uruto Road, Uruto Quarters, Ozoro. The family stated that the interment ceremony would be restricted to family members.
A reception for guests will subsequently hold at the field of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, along NDC Road, Ozoro.
The family described the deceased as a father, grandfather, brother and uncle, inviting relatives, friends and well-wishers to join them in honouring his memory.
The burial announcement was signed by family representatives Henry Omunu, Editor, Trumpet Newspaper and Benedict Omunu.
By Our Reporter
Veteran Nollywood actor Francis Duru has died at the age of 57 following a brief illness, his family has announced.
The family disclosed his death in a statement published on the actor’s official Instagram page in the early hours of Friday.
“We, the family of Francis Duru, regret to announce his passing following a brief illness,” the post reads.
“We appreciate your prayers, love, and understanding. May his soul rest in perfect peace. Amen.”
Duru’s death comes months after he dismissed reports circulating on social media that he was battling a life-threatening illness.
The rumours intensified in June after a video showing the actor looking frail went viral, prompting concerns among fans and colleagues in the entertainment industry.
Responding to the speculation at the time, Duru released a video on Instagram in which he described the footage as “fabricated and malicious”.
Born on July 27, 1969, in Cameroon to Nigerian parents from Imo State, Duru completed his primary and secondary education in the Central African country before moving to Nigeria for university education.
He gained admission to the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he studied Theatre Arts and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1996.
Duru began his acting career in 1989 when he featured in Missing Mark, a film directed by the late Ndubuisi Oko. However, the role did not immediately establish him as a prominent figure in the Nigerian movie industry.
His breakthrough came in 1995 following his appearance in Rattlesnake, an action-comedy produced by the late filmmaker Amaka Igwe. In the film, he played the character Ahanna, a role that helped raise his profile in Nollywood.
Throughout his career, Duru earned several awards and honours in recognition of his contributions to the entertainment industry.
He was named a United Nations ambassador of peace for his positive influence on young people.
In 2020, he won the Best Actor in a Leading Role (Igbo) award at the Best of Nollywood Awards for his performance in Mboputa.
Beyond his acting career, Duru was married to Adokiye, whom he wed in 2003. Their union produced four children.
The family suffered a major loss in August 2024 when one of their children, Ifeanyi, died.
Duru’s death marks the loss of an actor whose career spanned several decades in Nigeria’s film industry.
By Our Reporter
Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, says Nigerians should remain vigilant, shun panic, and stop spreading misinformation about Ebola virus disease.
Speaking on Wednesday after meeting with Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to the president in Abuja, Pate said citizens should rely on verified public health information from trusted sources rather than circulating false rumours.
The minister said the federal government is collaborating with Uganda to manage the situation.
“All I can tell you is that we are collaborating with our sister African nation of Uganda,” Pate said.
“What is important is that we have found this one case. We are doing contact tracing, and we are putting containment measures to ensure that it doesn’t go into our population.”
He urged Nigerians to remain calm and communicate responsibly, adding that the situation should be taken seriously without causing fear.
“Nigerians should be reassured. We must be vigilant, but not panic, and people should respect public health information from trusted sources, and not spread misinformation and false rumours,” Pate said.
The minister said Nigeria has the public health institutions and expertise needed to respond to the situation.
Pate added that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had activated its incident management system (IMS), with response teams working round the clock and the relevant task force coordinating containment efforts.
“They are working 24/7, and the task force is also active. So, we have things in place that give us confidence that Nigeria can weather this public health crisis,” he said.
He said the government would continue to monitor developments and provide updates as verified information became available.
“If the situation changes, we’ll come out and inform Nigerians,” he said.
Pate reiterated that the immediate priority was to contain the imported case and prevent its spread within the population.
The meeting between Pate and Gbajabiamila came nearly 24 hours after the federal government announced a confirmed case of Ebola disease in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
On Tuesday, Pate said 44 close contacts had been identified for tracing to prevent further transmission.
He added that the patient, a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda, had been admitted to a private hospital in the FCT, where she received care for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed.
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