Thousands of Nigerian youths seeking employment with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) were left stranded on Monday after the agency’s online pre-test portal repeatedly crashed, throwing the recruitment exercise into chaos.
The pre-test, scheduled for September 22 at 3:00 p.m., was meant to help shortlisted candidates for the Superintendent Cadre familiarise themselves with the system ahead of the main computer-based examination. Instead, the portal returned multiple error messages, including “500 Internal Server Error”, locking out most applicants.
From cybercafés to private offices and homes, candidates narrated hours of refreshing browsers without access. Many described the ordeal as both frustrating and disheartening.
Abdullahi Kabiru, an applicant from Nasarawa State, advised the Customs Service to organise the test in batches to ease server congestion.
“Many candidates couldn’t log in for two to three hours. The system just didn’t work. If tests were conducted in phases, the pressure would reduce,” he said.
Another applicant, Ojila Adole from Benue State, highlighted overcrowding at cybercafés as youths struggled to participate.
“Unemployment is driving the rush. If young people had jobs, fewer would be seeking Customs recruitment. The system should have been better managed,” he lamented.
From Cross River, Etuk Effiong accused the NCS of poor preparation.
“This is an international embarrassment. A federal agency should have simulated the expected traffic. Where are their developers? Do they not know about load balancing?” he queried.
Public affairs analyst, Mike Divine, said the glitches exposed how government agencies still struggle with basic ICT operations.
“It’s shameful that after decades of existence, Customs cannot organise a simple online test. This is not just frustrating but unfair to desperate job seekers,” he noted.
He advised the NCS to invest in reliable ICT infrastructure, test-run portals before use, and, if necessary, return to paper-based tests.
Similarly, Mcfredericks Akor Edache, Benue State Officer of Tracka, described the incident as evidence that recruitment processes in the federal civil service require a total overhaul.
“Stranding candidates without guidance was unwise and uncalled for. This deepens the perception that recruitment into the civil service depends more on connections than merit,” he said.
In response, the Nigeria Customs attributed the crash to high traffic on its portal.
“We are currently experiencing high traffic, which may cause temporary inaccessibility. Kindly keep trying as our team works to resolve the issue,” the agency announced in a public statement.
The NCS has since rescheduled the pre-test for the affected Superintendent Cadre candidates, advising them to use their National Identification Number (NIN) to check updated details of their batches, dates, and times.