Long before sunrise, the Tamale Main Post Office was already under siege.
Hundreds of determined youth (some arriving as early as 3:00 a.m.) formed chaotic queues that snaked around the building and spilled onto the streets, all scrambling to purchase application forms for the 2025 recruitment into the Ghana Police Service, Immigration Service, Fire Service, and Prisons Service.
By 7:00 a.m., the crowd had swollen to over 800, with many travelling from distant towns like Yendi, Salaga, and Bimbilla, some on motorbikes, others by trotro, clutching every cedi they could gather.
“I came from Sawla at midnight just to be here early,” said 26-year-old Issahaku Mahamadu. “If the forms finish before I reach the counter, my whole year is wasted.”
The rush highlights the acute unemployment crisis gripping the north, where thousands of graduates and school leavers see the security services as one of the few reliable paths to stable jobs, allowances, and dignity.
Frustrations boiled over as some applicants complained about the cost of the forms and fears that limited stock would run out before noon. Others accused “connection men” hanging around the premises of trying to sell fake forms at inflated prices.
Post office staff, clearly overwhelmed, appealed for calm while police were called in to manage the surging crowd.
Official Warning Repeated
Authorities reiterated that the only legitimate way to apply is through the Centralised Services E-Recruitment Portal (C-SERP) using e-vouchers purchased via ∗713∗03# or GCB Bank branches — not physical forms from post offices.
Despite the nationwide announcement that the process is 100% online, many applicants in rural and peri-urban areas still believe physical forms are required, leading to the chaotic scenes now playing out at post offices from Tamale to Takoradi, Bolga to Cape Coast.
Similar stampedes for forms were reported today in Wa, Bole, Damongo, and Nalerigu.
Security analysts and youth advocates are calling on the Ministry of Interior to intensify public education in local languages on radio and at community centres to prevent exploitation and dangerous crowds.
For now, the queues in Tamale continue to grow, a stark reminder that for thousands of young Northerners, joining the security services is not just a career choice, but survival.
