NCS to retire 1,516 officers nationwide between 2026, 2027
Nigeria Customs Service NCS
Abdullateef Fowewe
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced it will retire 1,516 officers across the country over the next two years, following the release of statutory retirement schedules contained in two internal circulars.
The Service’s Human Resource and Development Department, through circular HRD/2025/048 dated September 19, 2025, listed 825 officers due to retire in 2026.
The largest numbers are in the Deputy Superintendent of Customs cadre (285) and Superintendent of Customs (226).
Other cadres named include Chief Superintendent of Customs (61), Chief Customs Officer (53), Deputy Customs Officer (51), Assistant Superintendent of Customs I (64), Assistant Customs Officer (46), Inspector of Customs (8), Assistant Superintendent of Customs II (10), Customs Assistant I (1), Customs Assistant II (2), Assistant Comptroller-General (13), and Deputy Comptroller-General (5).
The circular was signed by Comptroller A.A. Bazuaye on behalf of the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of HRD.
A second circular, HRD/2026/020 dated May 26, 2026, contains a draft list of 691 officers slated for statutory retirement in 2027.
That list is led by 200 Superintendents of Customs and 193 Deputy Superintendents of Customs.
It also includes Deputy Customs Officer (81), Chief Superintendent of Customs (68), Assistant Customs Officer (57), Assistant Superintendent of Customs I (39), Chief Customs Officer (38), Inspector of Customs (2), Assistant Superintendent of Customs II (4), Customs Assistant I (4), Customs Assistant II (4), and Assistant Comptroller-General (4).
Both circulars direct affected officers to proceed on mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave in line with Public Service Rule 100238 and relevant federal government circulars, and to submit three months’ pre-retirement notice to the Comptroller-General of Customs.
The Service opened a corrections window for the 2027 draft list, requiring complaints or claims of error to be submitted by July 31, 2026.
Zonal coordinators, area controllers and unit heads were instructed to circulate the lists to all affected personnel.
Some senior officers already impacted include several Deputy Comptrollers-General and Assistant Comptrollers-General who have either retired in 2026 or have scheduled retirement dates within the year.
Abejide Leke Joseph, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, described the exercise as statutory and routine, rejecting suggestions it was linked to leadership changes.
He said retirements under civil service rules are determined by age or years of service, not appointments, and attributed the concentrated exits to a 16-year recruitment gap and stalled promotions that caused multiple cohorts to reach retirement concurrently.
He added that more than 1,500 officers are expected to leave under existing Public Service Rules and stressed the process is lawful.
Several attempts to obtain comment from the NCS spokesperson were unsuccessful at the time of filing.
The retirements come as President Bola Tinubu recently approved a six-month extension for Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi, extending his tenure to February 2027 to sustain ongoing reforms — including the National Single Window project and to ensure an orderly transition.
Adeniyi, a career customs officer, will continue to oversee key reforms alongside the Customs Service Board during the transition period.
