Nigeria Customs Reschedules Superintendent Pre-Test into Batches Following Portal Failure

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has been compelled to reschedule its mandatory pre-test for shortlisted applicants in the Superintendent Cadre, admitting that the initial online exercise on Monday, September 22, was marred by significant technical challenges. The NCS cited “heavy traffic” on its portal as the cause of the system failure, which left thousands of prospective candidates stranded, frustrated, and unable to log in.

The glitch-ridden test saw applicants across the country complain of persistent error messages, with many taking to social media to criticize the agency’s preparedness for an exercise attracting huge national interest. One common lament was the inability of the system to handle the sheer volume of users, despite the recruitment drive being a national exercise.

To rectify the situation and ensure a fairer process, the NCS released a notice on Thursday announcing that all affected Superintendent Cadre candidates have been regrouped into four distinct batches: A, B, C, and D. The Service has directed all applicants to visit the official updates link and use their National Identity Number (NIN) to check their new, mandatory Batch, Date, and Time for the rescheduled test.

The Customs Service emphasized the seriousness of the new schedule, warning that “Strict compliance with your assigned Batch and Time is mandatory. Failure will lead to disqualification.”

While the pre-test is strictly a non-scoring exercise meant only for candidates to familiarize themselves with the system before the actual Computer-Based Test (CBT), the initial failure has raised concerns among Nigerian youths about the reliability and credibility of the large-scale recruitment process. Applicants in the Inspectorate and Assistant Cadres were explicitly told not to log in and to await further instructions regarding their own pre-tests.