Nigeria’s national emergency telephone number, 112, came under scrutiny on Tuesday night after repeated attempts to reach the service failed during a live television programme, contradicting assurances by an APC chieftain that the system was functional.

The incident occurred on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where Alwan Hassan, a member and spokesperson of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, spoke about the emergency response initiative as one of the achievements of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, Leadership Newspaper reported.

During the discussion, Hassan challenged the programme’s presenter, Seun Okinbaloye, to test the emergency line on air, explaining that calls were expected to connect users with emergency communication centres responsible for coordinating assistance in their respective locations.

However, Okinbaloye’s attempt to test the number was unsuccessful, prompting him to announce that the line was not connecting. Hassan also tried calling several times but encountered the same difficulty.

The APC chieftain initially attributed the problem to a possible network issue, maintaining that the emergency line had worked for him on previous occasions. Okinbaloye, however, challenged that explanation, noting that other calls were going through from the same location. He also disclosed that viewers had sent messages reporting similar difficulties.

Hassan explained that the emergency centres were designed to receive distress calls and direct requests to the appropriate agencies, including ambulance services and the police, depending on the nature of the incident.

He further said the government was working on a centralised system that would help emergency operators identify callers’ locations and coordinate responses. According to him, the Abuja centre was ready, but the President had directed that its official launch should await proper coordination with centres across the country. He projected that the nationwide arrangement would be completed by March 2027.

The exchange took another turn when Okinbaloye questioned whether the service was fully operational, citing other government promises yet to materialise. Hassan insisted that the administration would fulfil its commitments and appealed for more time.