30,000 paramilitary recruits to undergo drug tests

File image: NSCDC operatives

The Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board has announced that its recruitment portal will open on October 28 for candidates shortlisted for the first batch of 30,000 paramilitary personnel to check their status and undertake mandatory drug tests.

The Board Secretary, Maj Gen Abdulmalik Jibrin (retd.), disclosed this while briefing journalists on the outcome of the board’s meeting in Abuja on Thursday.

He said the portal would remain open until November 13, urging candidates shortlisted after the oral interview to log in, confirm their status and obtain the code required for the drug test.

Jibrin explained that candidates would undergo the mandatory test at designated National Drug Law Enforcement Agency offices in their respective states before proceeding to Abuja to collect their appointment letters.

He said the requirement was in line with the Federal Government’s directive that prospective employees must provide evidence that they were free from illegal drug use before receiving their appointment letters.

He said, “The board has agreed that, since candidates have been waiting, the recruitment portal will open on October 28 and remain open until November 13.

“Candidates who have reached the oral interview stage are expected to check their status on the portal, obtain a code and undergo a mandatory drug test with the NDLEA, in keeping with the Federal Government’s directive that every prospective employee must present a certificate confirming they are free from the use of illegal drugs before collecting an appointment letter.

“It is after this that they will proceed. They will all converge in Abuja to collect their letters of appointment, and that is the documentation. So, you must come along with a certificate which shows you are free from drug abuse before you collect your letter,” he said.

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The board secretary clarified that candidates would not be required to pay for the drug test, as the government would bear the cost.

“So no candidate will be charged. If any candidate reports and is asked to give money, let him report to the nearest security agency’s office,” he said.

Jibrin said the exercise formed part of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to recruit 120,000 personnel into the country’s paramilitary services within his first four-year tenure.

He added that the board was working on the first batch of 30,000 recruits under the plan.

The recruitment covers the Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigerian Immigration Service, Federal Fire Service and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

He urged successful candidates to comply with the stipulated process and present themselves for the mandatory drug test within the period specified for the portal exercise.