By Taibat Ummi Yakubu

The Federal Government has begun concrete steps toward launching a unified national emergency response system, moving to operationalise the toll-free 112 emergency number across the country in what officials describe as a major shift from Nigeria’s fragmented emergency communication structure.

The initiative received fresh momentum on Tuesday when Vice President Kashim Shettima directed key government agencies to develop a comprehensive implementation roadmap that will guide the nationwide deployment of the emergency number and establish the framework needed to make it fully functional.

The move follows the recent approval of 112 as Nigeria’s single universal emergency number, a decision expected to replace the confusing web of multiple emergency hotlines operated by different agencies and levels of government. Once fully implemented, Nigerians facing emergencies will no longer need to determine whether to contact the police, fire service, road safety officials, disaster responders, or medical personnel. Instead, a single call to 112 will trigger the appropriate response.

To accelerate the process, the Federal Government has set up a committee comprising representatives of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and other relevant institutions. The committee has been tasked with developing an implementation roadmap and standard operating procedures that will eventually be presented to the National Economic Council (NEC) for approval.

Speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting on the National Emergency Number 112 Project in Abuja, Shettima stressed that the initiative must move beyond policy discussions and quickly translate into tangible action capable of saving lives.

He urged members of the committee to study successful emergency response systems from other countries and adapt global best practices to Nigeria’s realities. According to him, while technical planning remains essential, adequate funding will ultimately determine the success of the project.

The Vice President assured stakeholders that the government was committed to providing the resources required to drive the programme once a robust implementation framework had been developed.

The planned emergency number represents a significant departure from the current system, which many experts have criticised for being fragmented and inefficient. In many emergency situations, victims or witnesses are often forced to decide which agency to contact, a process that can waste precious time during life-threatening incidents.

Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu described the adoption of 112 as a landmark development that would simplify access to emergency services and improve public safety nationwide.

According to him, Nigerians confronted with armed attacks, road accidents, kidnappings, medical emergencies, fire outbreaks, and other crises frequently face the additional burden of identifying the correct agency to call. The new system, he said, is designed to eliminate that confusion by ensuring that one number connects callers to the appropriate emergency responders.

Advertisement

Officials involved in the project argue that the reform is not merely about introducing another telephone number but about building an integrated national emergency response architecture capable of coordinating agencies and improving response times.

Mrs Lydia Aina, Personal Assistant to the President on e-Governance in the Office of the Vice President, noted that Nigeria’s emergency response system currently operates through multiple agencies, platforms, and jurisdictions, resulting in poor coordination and duplication of efforts.

She explained that the vision behind the 112 initiative is to move the country away from isolated response structures and toward a coordinated national framework where emergency calls are received, assessed, and handled through a unified system.

Aina said the focus of the stakeholders’ engagement was not simply the emergency number itself but the institutional mechanisms that would ensure the number functions effectively when Nigerians dial it.

According to her, attention is now shifting to implementation, with authorities identifying six immediate priorities beginning with governance structures that will clearly define responsibilities among participating agencies.

She stressed that establishing accountability mechanisms and operational standards would be crucial to ensuring the success of the project and preventing bureaucratic bottlenecks that often undermine emergency interventions.

Other stakeholders who pledged support for the initiative included the Director-General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar; Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Shehu Mohammed; and Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu.

If successfully implemented, the national emergency system could transform how crises are managed in Nigeria by creating a common access point for emergency calls and enabling security, medical, disaster management, and rescue agencies to coordinate their responses more efficiently.

For millions of Nigerians, the reform promises something that has long been missing during moments of distress: a single number to call when every second counts.