Hope to Heartbreak: Nigerian youths flood X over Customs recruitment disappointment 

By Shamsudeen Abubakar 

Applicants who spent months anticipating the next stage of the Nigerian Customs Services recruitment took to X in frustration after many reported receiving “Not Invited for the Next Phase” notices.

For more than a year, thousands of Nigerian youths had waited anxiously for updates on the recruitment process, hoping for an opportunity in one of the county’s most sought-after security agencies. But when the Nigerian Customs Service directed applicants to verify their status online on Wednesday, 7 May, 2026, many said their hopes quickly turned into disappointment.

Across X, formerly Twitter, aggrieved applicants flooded comment sections with anger, heartbreak and accusations of unfairness after seeing rejection notices on the recruitment portal.

Questions Over Transparency 

Some questioned the transparency of the process, while others lamented the emotional toll of waiting months only to be denied progression to the next stage.

MM Sani, a youth from Kogi State, faulted the prolonged recruitment stages and questioned the transparency of the process after the Customs announced another phase of screening. “Even if you get selected in this phase, there’s another phase again. Just imagine after how many months of waiting. Where’s the transparency?” He wrote.

Another user, Ace Beauty, expressed surprise that no successful candidate appeared to have publicly celebrated being shortlisted.

Ibrahim Haruna also reacted bitterly, saying the exercise seemed more like a “selection than results,” while praying that those in charge would someday understand the pain applicants were going through.

Amid outrage, some applicants celebrated success

Amid the outrage, however, a few successful applicants shared emotional testimonies online.

A youth politician, Idris Halliru El-Matari, wrote in Hausa that he eventually made the shortlist despite suffering an accident and sustaining a leg injury on the day of the examination.

According to him, he still struggled to go to a cybercafe to sit for the test despite the pain and lack of support. “Allah na gode,” he repeatedly wrote in gratitude after seeing his name among shortlisted candidates.

Two years of waiting, One claim of favouritism

One of the strongest reactions came from a user identified as Ghost Omar, who accused recruitment officials of abandoning merit and favouring preferred candidates.

In a lengthy post directed at the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, Omar lamented that many applicants had waited for nearly two years believing the process would be fair. “What we see instead is favouritism, positions given not on merit, but to your own people,” part of the post read.

Omar also criticized the wider inequality in Nigeria, arguing that opportunities meant for the public often end up benefiting only a privileged few.

“You and others in positions of authority should remember: one day, everyone will leave this world. What belongs to the people should not be taken unjustly. There will be accountability if not here, then before God,” he said with bitterness, adding that God will judge all actions, and that one day, those in power will also have to vacate their seats.

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Another applicant, Favour onchain reacted sarcastically to the multiple recruitment stages. “For those that got selected, I am hoping this is the last phase,” the user posted alongside a laughing emoji.

Sons of nobody left behind 

Questions over the credibility of the exercise intensified after another user, Don Bishop, alleged that some shortlisted individuals never participated in the examination process.

The user claimed that candidates who completed all stages of the examination were left out while others allegedly made the shortlist without writing the test.

In his words: “Nigeria Customs na failure who no write exam her name came out but people that wrote both two exams name didn’t come out, u are really a big mistake to the country after tomorrow u na go come out call fair shortlisting. BIG fail to believe anything that NCS say lies full ur mouth.” The comment reads.

Similarly, Stephen Olem Yahaya, who identified himself as a Cyber cafe Operator, said he was yet to encounter any shortlisted candidate despite assisting numerous applicants throughout the process.

“I am a cafe owner, not one single soul has been shortlisted. I’ve contacted fellow cafe Operators too and they said the same thing,” he wrote.

Enyi described the recruitment process as deeply flawed, arguing that ordinary Nigerians without connections were often left behind in competitive government opportunities.

“If you are a son of nobody in this country, you are on your own,” the user lamented.

As reactions continued to pour online, many applicants called on the Nigerian Customs Service to explain the criteria used in selecting candidates and address growing concerns over credibility of the recruitment exercise.

Efforts to reach the Nigerian Customs Service spokesperson and the Comptroller-General of Customs for comments were ongoing at the time of filing this report.