The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has disclosed that about 1,300 applicants in the recent security services recruitment exercise tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) during mandatory medical screening.
Speaking before Parliament’s Assurances Committee on Monday, July 6, 2026, the Minister said the medical examination formed part of the standard recruitment process to determine the health and fitness of applicants before enlistment into the various security services.
Mr. Muntaka explained that applicants who were disqualified on medical grounds were not informed directly of the specific reasons to avoid causing emotional distress, particularly in cases involving sensitive medical conditions such as HIV.
“The recent recruitment, we have about 1,300 or so that were on HIV, and they said, can you imagine sending somebody the results that you have HIV? I mean that’s not the procedure. The person has to go through some orientation,” he said.
According to the Minister, applicants who did not meet the medical requirements were instead provided with contact details to enable them seek further clarification if they wished to know why they had been disqualified.
“One of the things we did was that when you get disqualified, you are given a contact to reach out. If you are interested in knowing the details, then when you call, they assist you to let you know,” he explained.
Mr. Muntaka added that some of the medical conditions detected during the screening are treatable, making it important for applicants to receive the appropriate counselling and medical care.
“Interestingly, some of the things that we realise are treatable, so people need to know and then also get treatment so that in subsequent recruitment they could join,” he stated.
