On the 19th of September 2025, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announced that they have started sending exam links via email to candidates who were successful in the earlier stage of the recruitment process. This is part of the preparation for the upcoming Computer-Based Test (CBT) exercise.
NCS Pre-test Update
The NCS Pre-test was scheduled for the 22nd of September 2025 by 3:00 PM. Specific instructions were sent to the shortlisted applicants on how to access the pretest portal.
The Pre-test exam is designed to help candidates familiarize themselves with the instructions for taking the actual NCS CBT exam that is upcoming.
However, there was a major setback to the Pre-test as candidates kept complaining that the portal link did not open.
Upon our investigation, we found that the site returned a 505 error, indicating that the server could not handle the incoming traffic.
Subsequently, applicants began lamenting over the delay as glitches marred the Customs pre-test.
NCS Addresses Pre-test Delay Issues
The Nigeria Customs Service has addressed the issue on its official Twitter page. Candidates have been advised to keep refreshing and visiting the portal page as the NCS technical team is working to ensure that the pre-test portal works perfectly.
NCS Addresses Pre-test Delay Issues
What are candidates saying?
Candidate lamented and narrated their ordeal on social media space, X. Some of the candidates who were shortlisted for the NCS pre-test had this to say:
“Dear #CustomsNG, your server is down and people can’t write the exam.
“Who are your developers that don’t know about simulating the kind of request you expect? Are they not aware of load balancing?” he posted.
A Facebook user, Sani Sa’ad Bunza, also narrated how a friend missed the pre-test.
“She literally sat down for a whole hour refreshing the page, but to no avail.
“I truly felt bad that in 2025, we still cannot guarantee a reliable system for such an important national exercise,” he wrote.
Similarly, an X user, Sandra, with the handle #Sandraa20k, said she was stuck for two hours at the facial capture stage, adding, “I think I will give up here. I am tired of sitting down.”
Another candidate, Bolaji Oladeji Aduralere, tweeting from #BolajiAduralere, lamented that the portal crashed midway through the exercise.
“At 3pm today, those shortlisted for the Nigeria Customs Pre-Test are currently on it, guess what? Many are experiencing server errors.
“The site probably crashed, not working as expected. It’s well with us in this country,” he wrote.
The Nigeria Customs Service has reiterated its commitment to ensuring a smooth recruitment process. Candidates are encouraged to stay patient as there will soon be an official announcement regarding the glitch experience on the NCS pretest portal.
