Nigeria’s National Economic Council (NEC) has approved 112 as the unified, toll-free national emergency number for the country as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s emergency lifeline and create a unified and coordinated national response channel to emergencies.
To ensure the successful activation of emergency response number, the Council also approved the establishment of a multi-agency implementation committee and programme coordination led by the Office of the Vice President and the National Communications Commission (NCC).
Speaking on the decisions taken at the 157th meeting of the NEC held virtually, the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, said the 112-emergency lifeline had become necessary to prevent the usual delays caused by bureaucratic bottlenecks to emergency calls by Nigerians at the pressing times of need for assistance.
According to him, what the citizens seek urgently when confronted by a natural disaster or insecurity is an urgent response and not bureaucracy.
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Shettima clarified: “This is not only a technical reform. It is a test of the state’s humanity. In moments of fire, accident, robbery, medical emergency, flood, violence, or panic, citizens do not need bureaucracy.
“They need a response. They need to know one number to call, one system to trust, and one coordinated chain of action that moves quickly enough to save lives”, he added.
The Vice President maintained that while Nigeria was not just beginning the toll-free emergency calls initiative as the emergency number had been in existence, what remained crucial now for its improved efficiency “is coordination, adoption, standard operating procedures, public awareness, institutional ownership, and trust”.
