PHOTO CREDIT: The Sun Nigeria / Presidential Villa
FG Moves to Unify Emergency Response with 112 Number as Shettima Orders Immediate Roadmap

The Federal Government is set to overhaul Nigeria’s emergency response architecture with the full operationalisation of 112 as the single, toll-free National Emergency Number.

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday in Abuja directed relevant stakeholders to immediately develop an operational roadmap for the nationwide rollout of the number.

The directive was given at a stakeholders’ meeting on the National Emergency Number 112 Project at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, following the recent approval by the National Economic Council (NEC) for 112 to serve as Nigeria’s universal emergency line.

Shettima said the initiative must go beyond policy approval to become a functional, life-saving system that guarantees rapid assistance to Nigerians in distress.

The new system is aimed at fixing the current fragmented response structure, where citizens in emergencies struggle to decide whether to call the Police, Fire Service, ambulance services, FRSC or other agencies.

Under the new arrangement, a citizen will only need to dial 112, and the call will be automatically routed to the appropriate response agency.

To drive the process, the Vice President directed a committee made up of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other relevant agencies to finalise the roadmap and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for presentation to NEC for endorsement.

He urged the committee to adopt global best practices and assured them of government funding.

“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,” Shettima said.

He noted that the unified number would transform how Nigerians respond to armed attacks, road accidents, fire outbreaks, medical emergencies and kidnapping.

Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, described the adoption of 112 as a major step in giving Nigerians a simple and reliable channel to access help, noting that one number should provide access to the appropriate response.

On her part, the Personal Assistant to the President on e-Governance in the Office of the Vice President, Lydia Aina, said success would depend not just on the number but on the system behind it.

She said the government plans to move from fragmented, state-level arrangements to a coordinated and integrated national framework, with clear governance, standards, and coordination mechanisms to ensure that a call to 112 triggers real action.

Also present at the meeting were the Director-General of NEMA, Zubaida Umar; Corps Marshal of FRSC, Shehu Mohammed; and Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, who all pledged support for the project.
SOURCE: The Sun Nigeria