The Federal Government has begun moves to eliminate the confusion and delays associated with Nigeria’s multiple emergency response lines as it pushes for the nationwide rollout of 112 as the country’s single toll-free emergency number.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday directed a multi-agency committee to produce a comprehensive operational roadmap and standard operating procedures for the system, ahead of their submission to the National Economic Council (NEC) for endorsement.
The directive was issued in Abuja at a stakeholders’ meeting on the National Emergency Number 112 Project involving the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Communications Commission, National Emergency Management Agency, Federal Road Safety Corps and other relevant agencies.
Shettima said the new system must be designed around global best practices and capable of delivering a coordinated response to emergencies ranging from security breaches and road crashes to fires and medical crises. He also assured stakeholders that funding would be provided to drive the implementation once sufficient progress had been made.
The Vice-President said, “Let’s make progress so that whatever time we have spent here is worth spending,” stressing that adequate resources would be made available to ensure the project moves beyond planning to implementation.
Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, backed the initiative, describing 112 as a major step towards giving Nigerians a simple and dependable channel for seeking emergency assistance. He noted that victims of armed attacks, accidents, fires, kidnapping and medical emergencies are often confronted first with the difficulty of knowing which agency to call.
The nationwide system is expected to address that problem by providing a single access point through which emergency calls can be directed to the appropriate response agency, replacing the fragmented arrangement of multiple emergency contacts and, ultimately, reducing delays that can cost lives.
