NDLEA Says Drug Integrity Test for Ministry of Interior Recruits Is Free, Warns Against N7,500 Fee

Labels: News, Education, Jobs, NDLEA Illustration: applicants queueing at a recruitment screening centre. (Illustrative image) (Image: Fo) The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has told applicants for recruitment into the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Nigerian Correctional Service, the Federal Fire Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps that the mandatory Drug Integrity Test will cost them nothing, and has warned them to ignore any demand for payment. The clarification, issued in Abuja on Friday by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy Femi Babafemi, follows days of complaints from applicants who found a fee displayed on the agency's screening portal. How much does the NDLEA drug test cost? Nothing, the agency says. "The agency wishes to emphasize that no payment is required from any candidate or personnel presenting for the Drug Integrity Test," Babafemi stated, as quoted by Peoples Gazette and Leadership. The Ministry of Interior has already made a bulk payment to cover the testing of its new intakes, and NDLEA directed all participating agencies and their personnel not to make any payment to NDLEA officials, testing centres or any other payment channel in respect of the exercise. The warning had a specific target: a N7,500 figure displayed on the agency's drug screening portal under the description "Drug Test", which had triggered protests among applicants, as Leadership reported on Friday morning. The dispute also put NDLEA at odds, briefly and publicly, with its own partner: the Secretary of the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board, Major General Abdulmalik Jibril (retd), had assured applicants at a briefing last week that the Federal Government would bear the full cost of the screening. How do applicants take the test? Candidates access the NDLEA Drug Integrity Test portal strictly through a designated link or access point provided on their respective service recruitment portals, where they register, complete the required documentation and proceed to testing centres. That routing is itself the anti-fraud measure: the agency's concern is that third parties are soliciting payment outside the official channel, and it named NDLEA officials and testing centres among the places no money should change hands. Why the drug test matters for recruitment The mandatory screening is a new gate in the recruitment pipeline for four paramilitary services that collectively attract some of Nigeria's most competitive job applications. Successful candidates now undergo the NDLEA drug test before collecting appointment letters, a requirement the board announced as part of a wider integrity push. For applicants, the practical takeaway is narrow and important: the test is a condition of employment, it is paid for, and anyone collecting money for it is either defrauding them or acting outside the process. The episode also lands in a familiar pattern. Recruitment exercises into Nigeria's uniformed services have historically been fertile ground for fraud, with fake portals and agents charging desperate jobseekers. An agency publicly waiving a fee displayed on its own portal, and explaining the bulk-payment arrangement behind it, is a small but useful signal of how the current exercise intends to handle that risk. FAQ Do I need to pay for the NDLEA drug integrity test? No. The Ministry of Interior has made a bulk payment covering all new intakes; no candidate should pay anyone for the test. Which agencies does it cover? The Nigerian Immigration Service, Nigerian Correctional Service, Federal Fire Service and NSCDC. What about the N7,500 fee shown online? NDLEA says no payment is required; the statutory amount relates to testing kits, not a charge to candidates, and access is only through the designated link on each service's recruitment portal. Sources: Peoples Gazette ("NDLEA announces free drug test for NIS, NCoS, NSCDC, fire service new intakes", October 30, 2026); Tribune Online ("NDLEA warns paramilitary recruits against paying N7,500 for drug test", October 30, 2026); Leadership ("NDLEA says Interior Ministry job seekers exempted from N7,500 drug test fee", October 30, 2026); Naija News ("'Don't pay', NDLEA announces drug tests for Immigration, NSCDC, Fire Service applicants", October 30, 2026).