Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Federal Government has directed the Nigeria Police Force, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Nigerian Communications Commission, the National Emergency Management Agency, and other relevant agencies to develop a comprehensive operational roadmap for the nationwide rollout of the 112 national emergency number. Vice President Kashim Shettima gave the directive on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, during a stakeholders' meeting on the National Emergency Number 112 Project in Abuja. The move follows the recent approval by the National Economic Council of 112 as Nigeria's single universal toll-free emergency number, designed to replace the fragmented and slow response lines that have long plagued the country's emergency response system.
The committee, which includes the Nigeria Police Force, the NCC, NEMA, the FRSC, and other relevant agencies, has been tasked with finalising the roadmap and standard operating procedures for formal endorsement by the National Economic Council. The goal is to eliminate bureaucratic red tape and allow citizens easy access to rapid help during fires, accidents, medical crises, or security breaches. Speaking at the meeting, Vice President Shettima urged the committee to ensure that its decisions were based on global best practices and to produce a clear roadmap. He stressed the need for the committee to make significant progress in finalising the roadmap and standard operating procedures for formal NEC endorsement, promising that resources would be made available to fund the process once the initiative becomes operational. "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 Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, expressed the full support of the Nigeria Police Force for the adoption of 112 as Nigeria's unified national emergency number. From an operational perspective, he described it as a significant step towards ensuring that citizens have a simple and reliable means of accessing emergency assistance. Disu explained that for a citizen facing an armed attack, accident, fire outbreak, medical emergency, kidnapping, or any other life-threatening situation, the first challenge is often determining which agency to call. A single emergency number, he said, should provide direct access to the appropriate response. In her presentation, the Personal Assistant to the President on e-Governance, Mrs Lydia Aina, noted that emergency response in Nigeria currently runs across many agencies, systems, and jurisdictions, creating fragmentation in how emergencies are received, coordinated, and responded to. She said the goal is to move from that fragmented state, through coordinated response, to a fully integrated national framework. She added that the meeting focused on the system behind the process, including the people, the agencies, and the standards that make the number actually work when citizens dial it.
Other stakeholders who pledged the full support of their agencies at the meeting included the Director-General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar; the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Shehu Mohammed; and the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu. The Federal Government's move to operationalise the 112 emergency number is part of a broader effort to strengthen the country's emergency response system and ensure that citizens have access to rapid assistance during emergencies. With the committee now tasked with developing a clear roadmap and standard operating procedures, the hope is that the 112 number will soon become a reality for all Nigerians, providing a lifeline in times of crisis. As Mrs Aina put it, "Our job now is to turn it into an actual working programme with milestones."
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments