By: Thomas Abidoye
The journey of the recruitment into the four paramilitary agencies, Immigration, Civil Defence (NSCDC), Fire, and Correctional Services, began on July 14, 2025, signaling the commencement of the application process..
Three days after the portal was opened, it was marred by various technical glitches, including passport disappearance, inability to input NYSC certificate details, and sleepless nights for applicants. The portal was subsequently shut down for an upgrade.
In a statement issued by the Secretary to the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board, Maj. Gen. A.M. Jibril (retd.), on July 16, 2025, he stated that the temporary suspension of the recruitment application portal was to improve system efficiency.
He explained that the suspension affects the portal dedicated to the recruitment of personnel into the board’s paramilitary agencies.
Jibril noted that the portal would reopen on Monday, July 21, 2025.
He emphasized that the move was necessary to handle the surge in applications and ensure a smooth recruitment process.
He added that the board commended Nigerians for their interest in joining the services and assured them of fairness.
Following the statement, the frustrated thousands of Nigerian graduates who had experienced sleepless nights trying to register returned to their normal activities, anticipating the reactivation of the portal.
After Portal Upgrade
As promised, the recruitment portal went live again on Monday, July 21, 2025, with improvements and a user-friendly interface. However, some critical information was still missing on applicants’ slips. While some couldn’t find the photographs they uploaded on their acknowledgement slips after downloading, others complained about the inability to input NYSC certificate numbers. These issues persisted until the second day, when everything began to work well.
Going forward, the board issued a warning, re-emphasizing that double registration would lead to automatic disqualification. This was a follow-up message to caution those who were able to register before the system upgrade. However, the most suspicious part of the process was that this category of people were unable to access their data on the upgraded portal. The board did not provide any form of reassurance that their data was safe. The fears and complaints continued for many days, and some of those applicants re-registered.
On August 1, 2025, the board released a statement directing applicants who submitted their details prior to the portal upgrade to access their data via update.cdcfib.gov.ng.
The board also advised applicants to verify their information and complete the submission process.
In a follow-up update, the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB), on August 3, 2025, extended the closing date for its ongoing recruitment into the paramilitary services.
According to the Secretary to the Board, Major General A.M. Jibril (Rtd.), the application portal will now remain open until Monday, August 11, 2025.
The portal was earlier scheduled to close on Monday, August 4, 2025, but the board said the extension was to give more applicants the chance to apply.
All applications are to be submitted through the official portal at https://recruitment.cdcfib.gov.ng.
The board emphasized that the recruitment process is completely free and remains committed to transparency and fairness.
Applicants in Fear
The applications are now going smoothly as everyone looks forward to the closing date. Thousands, if not millions, of Nigerians have submitted applications for a job that only requires 30,000 personnel. Speaking with newsmen, one of the applicants, simply identified as Bimpe, said she is in doubt whether the selection process will be fair and transparent for people who do not have connections. She lamented the continued silence of the board in addressing applicants whose passport photos do not appear on their slips due to technical glitches.
Another applicant, Habeeb, expressed concern that he re-registered after the system upgrade when he could no longer access his data and received a new reference. However, he was confused when another message was circulated for another update, which he believes was unnecessary.
As the registration process winds down on August 11, all eyes are on the recruitment board, to either redeem their credibility or lose the trust Nigerians have in them.
For your immigration, NSCDC, Fire and Correctional services online registration message this number on WhatsApp 09064759042
