The Nigeria Customs Service has warned of an increase in online frauds involving fake recruitment and auction offers that are allegedly related to the service.
This comes as the organisation urges the public to be watchful and avoid falling victim to fraudsters.
Abdullahi Maiwada, the NCS’s National Public Relations Officer, announced this in an address to journalists in Abuja on Friday.
Maiwada raised an alarm about the growing practice of criminals impersonating senior customs officials on social media to defraud unwary citizens.
“We have observed a disturbing rise in fake accounts bearing the names and images of the Comptroller-General of Customs, the National PRO, and even retired senior officers, all falsely claiming to offer jobs and auction opportunities,” Maiwada said.
He stressed that the NCS does not conduct recruitment or auctions via social media, describing such actions as “criminal acts aimed at tarnishing the service’s reputation and defrauding innocent Nigerians”.
As part of continuous efforts to counteract such schemes, he stated that the NCS recently detained Mr. Okoli Okana Boniface for allegedly manipulating the recruitment process while falsely pretending to be an adviser to the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
“The case was promptly reported and thoroughly investigated by the Customs Police Unit. Findings confirmed it was a calculated attempt to compromise the integrity of the recruitment exercise,” Maiwada explained.
Maiwada described the arrest as proof of the service’s commitment to upholding the credibility of its operations, reaffirming the NCS’s zero-tolerance policy on fraud.
“Further investigations are underway to uncover similar cases,” he said.
Maiwada called on 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.
“The NCS remains committed to identifying, exposing, and prosecuting those who seek to compromise our operations through deceit,” Maiwada added.
