The Federal Government has ordered relevant agencies and stakeholders to prepare a detailed operational plan for rolling out Nigeria’s 112 national emergency number across the country.
A committee has been set up for this purpose. It includes the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other key bodies. The group is tasked with completing the roadmap and standard operating procedures so the National Economic Council (NEC) can formally endorse them.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, announced the decision in a statement on Tuesday.The NEC recently designated 112 as Nigeria’s single, universal, toll-free emergency number.
The move is intended to replace the current patchwork of slow and fragmented lines, cut through bureaucratic delays, and give citizens simpler access to help during fires, accidents, medical emergencies and security threats.
At a stakeholders’ meeting on the National Emergency Number 112 Project in Abuja on Tuesday, Vice President Kashim Shettima instructed the committee to base its framework on global best practices. He urged members to finalise the roadmap and procedures quickly for NEC approval and promised that funding would be provided once the project gains clearer momentum.
“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.
Inspector General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu gave the Nigeria Police Force’s full backing to the unified number. He called it an important advance that will give citizens a straightforward way to seek emergency help. Currently, people in crisis—whether facing armed attacks, accidents, fires, medical emergencies or kidnappings—often waste critical time deciding which agency to call. A single number, he noted, should automatically route callers to the right responders.
Lydia Aina, Personal Assistant to the President on e-Governance in the Office of the Vice President, observed that emergency response in Nigeria is still spread across multiple agencies, systems and jurisdictions. This fragmentation slows how emergencies are received, coordinated and handled.
The goal is to shift from scattered state-level arrangements to a coordinated national system and, eventually, a fully integrated framework.
Aina said the stakeholders’ meeting concentrated on the infrastructure, personnel, agencies and standards needed to make 112 work effectively when people dial it. “Our job now is to turn it into an actual working programme with milestones. So, we have identified six immediate priorities. First, governance. We need a clear structure of who’s responsible for what,” she stated.
Support also came from NEMA Director-General Zubaida Umar, FRSC Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed, National Orientation Agency Director-General Lanre Issa-Onilu and other stakeholders, all of whom pledged their agencies’ full commitment to the initiative.
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