The Nigeria Customs Service on Friday, June 20, 2025, warned Nigerians to beware of a rise in online scams involving fake recruitment and auction offers falsely associated with the service.
The agency urged the public to remain vigilant to avoid falling victim to the fraudsters.
Briefing journalists at the service’s headquarters in Abuja, the National Public Relations Officer, Assistant Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada, expressed concern about the increasing trend of criminals impersonating senior customs officials on social media to deceive unsuspecting citizens.
“We have observed a troubling rise in fake accounts using the names and images of the comptroller-general of customs, the national public relations officer, and even retired senior officers, all falsely claiming to offer jobs and auction opportunities,” Maiwada stated.
He emphasized that the customs do not conduct recruitment or auctions via social media, labeling such actions as “criminal acts aimed at tarnishing the service’s reputation and defrauding innocent Nigerians.”
As part of its ongoing efforts to combat these scams, he disclosed that the customs recently arrested Mr. Okoli Boniface on June 16, 2025, for allegedly manipulating the recruitment process while falsely claiming to be an aide to the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
“The case was promptly reported and thoroughly investigated by the Customs Police Unit.
“Our findings confirmed it was a calculated attempt to undermine the integrity of the recruitment exercise,” Maiwada explained.
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He described the arrest as evidence of the service’s commitment to maintaining the credibility of its operations and reaffirmed the agency’s zero-tolerance policy towards fraud.
The customs spokesman added that further investigations are underway to uncover similar cases.
Maiwada urged Nigerians to verify all information related to recruitment and auctions through the service’s official communication channels.
“We advise the public to disregard messages or offers from unverified sources and to rely solely on our verified platforms for accurate information,” he concluded.
Reiterating the comptroller-general’s position, Maiwada affirmed that “the Nigeria Customs Service remains committed to identifying, exposing, and prosecuting those who seek to undermine our operations through deceit.”
