The Ministry of the Interior has disclosed that more than 6,000 applicants were disqualified at the medical screening stage of the ongoing security services recruitment exercise after testing positive for drug use or being identified with mental health conditions.

Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, speaking in an interview on Pan African TV on Saturday, May 23, said over 100,000 applicants underwent medical examinations during the recruitment process.

He explained that the screening went beyond routine physical and laboratory tests to include drug testing and mental health assessments due to growing concerns about personnel wellbeing in the security services.

According to him, more than 4,000 applicants failed the drug tests, while about 2,000 were disqualified on mental health grounds.

“We have over 100,000 people who went through the medicals. Because of the large numbers, and because of what we have observed within the services, we introduced additional checks including mental health assessments and drug tests. Interestingly, over 4,000 people failed the drug test, and we have over 2,000 who also failed due to mental health conditions,” he said.

He added that the results underscore the need to strengthen screening processes to ensure only qualified and fit candidates are recruited into the security services.