ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Federal Government has begun moves to establish a coordinated nationwide emergency response system anchored on the 112 toll-free emergency number.
The initiative is aimed at replacing Nigeria’s fragmented emergency response structure with a single access point through which citizens can quickly reach the appropriate agency during life-threatening situations.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting on the National Emergency Number 112 Project in Abuja on Tuesday, directed relevant agencies to develop a comprehensive operational roadmap and standard operating procedures for the rollout.
According to Channels TV, the Federal Government subsequently constituted a committee comprising the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Communications Commission, National Emergency Management Agency, Federal Road Safety Corps and other relevant agencies to finalise the framework.
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The committee is expected to submit its recommendations for formal endorsement by the National Economic Council, (NEC).
The development was disclosed in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha.
The NEC had earlier approved 112 as Nigeria’s single universal toll-free emergency number, replacing the multiple emergency lines operated by different agencies and jurisdictions.
Under the proposed system, Nigerians would no longer have to determine which agency to contact when confronted with emergencies such as armed attacks, road crashes, fire outbreaks, medical crises or kidnapping.
Shettima urged the committee to ensure that the proposed framework was developed in line with global best practices and called for tangible progress in the implementation process.
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“Let’s make progress so that whatever time we have spent here is worth spending. And most importantly, the engine is finance. It is resources to drive the process. And I want to assure you that we will get the resources,” he said.
The Vice President also assured stakeholders that the necessary resources would be provided to drive the project once implementation becomes more visible.
The Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, expressed the Nigeria Police Force’s support for the adoption of 112 as the country’s unified emergency number.
Disu said the initiative would give citizens a simpler and more reliable means of accessing emergency assistance, particularly in situations where immediate intervention is required.
He noted that people facing emergencies often struggle to determine which agency to contact, especially when incidents involve more than one response organisation.
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According to him, a unified number would enable callers to access the appropriate response agency without having to navigate the existing fragmented system.
Earlier, the Personal Assistant to the President on e-Governance, Office of the Vice President, Lydia Aina, said Nigeria’s emergency response system currently operates across multiple agencies, systems and jurisdictions.
She said the fragmentation affects the way emergencies are received, coordinated and handled, making the development of an integrated national framework necessary.
Aina said the stakeholders’ meeting therefore focused on the infrastructure, personnel, agencies and operational standards required to transform 112 from an approved emergency number into a functional national response mechanism.
“Our job now is to turn it into an actual working programme with milestones. So, we have identified six immediate priorities. First, governance. We need a clear structure of who’s responsible for what,” she said.