Customs To Retire 1,516 Officers In 2026, 2027 As Statutory Schedules Take Effect

The Nigeria Customs Service has announced plans to retire 1,516 officers nationwide over the next two years following the release of its statutory retirement schedules.
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‎The exercise will affect 825 personnel in 2026 and an additional 691 officers in 2027, across various ranks from Deputy Comptroller-General to Customs Assistant II.
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‎The retirement notices were contained in two restricted circulars issued by the Service’s Human Resource and Development Department and signed by Comptroller A.A. Bazuaye on behalf of the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of HRD.
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‎The first circular, HRD/2025/048 dated September 19, 2025, listed 825 officers due to retire in 2026.
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‎The breakdown shows the Deputy Superintendent of Customs cadre with the highest figure of 285 officers, followed by Superintendent of Customs with 226 officers.
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‎Other affected cadres 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).
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‎A second circular, HRD/2026/020 dated May 26, 2026, outlined a draft list of 691 officers scheduled for statutory retirement in 2027. In this list, the Superintendent of Customs cadre accounts for 200 officers, while the Deputy Superintendent of Customs follows with 193 officers.
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‎Others include 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).
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‎In both circulars, the Service directed all affected officers to proceed on mandatory pre-retirement leave in line with Public Service Rule 100238 and relevant federal government circulars.
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‎Officers were also instructed to submit a three-month pre-retirement notice to the Comptroller-General of Customs.
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‎The circular stated that affected personnel must disengage from active service and proceed on pre-retirement leave three months before their official retirement date.
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‎It also opened a window for corrections, requiring complaints or errors in the 2027 list to be submitted on or before July 31, 2026.
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‎The Nigeria Customs Service further directed zonal coordinators, area controllers, and unit heads to ensure circulation of the retirement lists to all affected officers.
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‎Some senior officers already affected by the exercise include several Deputy Comptrollers-General and Assistant Comptrollers-General who have either retired in 2026 or have scheduled retirement dates within the year.
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‎Meanwhile, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, Abejide Leke Joseph, clarified that the retirements are purely statutory and not linked to speculation about leadership changes within the Service.
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‎He explained that under civil service rules, retirement is determined strictly by age or years of service, not by appointment considerations. He also attributed the large-scale retirement to a 16-year recruitment gap and stalled promotions, which caused multiple service number cohorts to reach retirement age around the same period.
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‎According to him, more than 1,500 officers are expected to exit the Service under existing Public Service Rules, stressing that the process is lawful and routine rather than politically driven.
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‎Efforts to obtain an official response from the Nigeria Customs Service spokesperson were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
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‎President Bola Tinubu had recently approved a six-month extension for the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, extending his tenure to February 2027.
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‎The extension is intended to support ongoing reforms, including the National Single Window project, and ensure an orderly transition within the Service.
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‎Adeniyi, who has risen through the ranks of the Service over several decades, is expected to continue overseeing key reforms alongside the Customs Service Board during the transition period.
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