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NCS PR UNIT SWEEPS TOP HONOURS AS RIDWAN YUSUF, NURUDDEEN SA’IDU EMERGE BEST, SECOND-BEST AT NCCSC GWAGWALADA
By Our Correspondent
The Nigeria Customs Service Public Relations Unit has delivered a record performance at the Nigeria Customs Service Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, after its officers finished at the top of Senior Course 14. The outcome highlights the unit’s capacity for discipline, academic depth, and strategic leadership within the Service.
Fifty officers graduated from the senior course on Friday, June 26, 2026, at the Ahmed Makarfi Hall. Chief Superintendent of Customs Ridwan Yusuf was named the Overall Best Graduating Student and also received three additional awards. Chief Superintendent of Customs Nuruddeen Sa’idu emerged as the Second Best Graduating Student. The result gave the PR Unit a clean sweep of the top positions for the course.
Senior Course 14 is regarded as one of the most demanding professional programmes in the Service. It assesses officers on administrative competence, operational knowledge, and command-level leadership. The PR Unit’s dominance reinforces the view that public relations in the Nigeria Customs Service requires more than communication skills. It demands the same level of analytical thinking, strategy, and professionalism expected of senior command officers.
The achievement also comes with a transition for the unit. Officers with outstanding results at the College are often retained as Directing Staff to train subsequent cohorts. Assistant Comptroller Benjamin Lomba was retained after Senior Course 13 under the same tradition. If the pattern continues, Ridwan and Nuruddeen are expected to remain at Gwagwalada to mentor the next set of leaders. While the development is a career milestone and a credit to the PR family, it will create a gap in the unit’s day-to-day operations, strategy sessions, and team cohesion.
The Nigeria Customs Service and the Public Relations Unit have described the feat as a benchmark for excellence. Ridwan and Nuruddeen’s performance is expected to shape their transition into instructional and mentorship roles at the College, where their experience will be deployed to build the next generation of Customs leaders.
