… IGP says Unified System Will Give Nigerians Faster Access to Help
ABUJA — The Federal Government has commenced steps to operationalise 112 as Nigeria’s single, toll-free national emergency number, aimed at providing citizens with faster and easier access to emergency services across the country.
The move followed a directive by Vice-President Kashim Shettima at a stakeholders’ meeting on the National Emergency Number 112 Project held in Abuja on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
Shettima directed relevant government agencies to develop a comprehensive operational roadmap and standard operating procedures to guide the nationwide rollout of the emergency number.
As part of the process, the government has constituted a committee comprising the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Communications Commission, National Emergency Management Agency, Federal Road Safety Corps and other relevant agencies to finalise the implementation framework for consideration and formal endorsement by the National Economic Council.
The NEC had recently approved 112 as Nigeria’s single universal toll-free emergency number, replacing the fragmented emergency lines operated by different government agencies.
The initiative is designed to reduce delays and bureaucratic bottlenecks in emergency response by providing Nigerians with a single access point for urgent assistance, including security incidents, fires, road crashes, medical emergencies and disasters.
Speaking at the meeting, Shettima urged stakeholders to draw from international best practices while developing the operational framework and ensure that the project moves swiftly from policy approval to practical implementation.
“Let’s make progress so that whatever time we have spent here is worth spending,” the Vice-President said.
He also assured stakeholders that the Federal Government would provide the resources required to drive the initiative, adding that adequate funding would be made available once the project reaches the implementation stage.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, expressed the full support of the Nigeria Police Force for the adoption of 112 as the country’s unified emergency number.
Disu said the initiative would provide Nigerians with a simple and reliable means of accessing emergency assistance, particularly during incidents such as armed attacks, road crashes, fire outbreaks, medical emergencies and kidnapping.
He noted that citizens often face the challenge of determining which agency to contact during emergencies, stressing that the 112 system would provide a single access point through which calls could be directed to the appropriate response agency.
Earlier, the Personal Assistant to the President on e-Governance in the Office of the Vice-President, Lydia Aina, said Nigeria’s emergency response system currently operates across multiple agencies, platforms and jurisdictions.
She said the fragmented structure could affect how emergencies are received, coordinated and responded to, making an integrated system necessary.
According to Aina, the objective is to transition from the existing fragmented structure to a coordinated and eventually fully integrated national emergency response framework.
She stressed that the success of the 112 initiative would depend not only on the emergency number itself but also on the agencies, personnel, operational standards and technological systems required to ensure effective response when emergency calls are made.
“Our job now is to turn it into an actual working programme with milestones,” she said.
Aina disclosed that six immediate priorities had been identified, beginning with establishing effective governance and clearly defining the responsibilities of participating agencies.
Other stakeholders at the meeting pledged their support for the initiative, including the Director-General of NEMA, Zubaida Umar; Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Shehu Mohammed; and Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu.
If successfully implemented nationwide, the 112 system is expected to provide a unified gateway linking citizens to the police, fire services, medical responders, road safety authorities, disaster management agencies and other emergency services.
The initiative is consequently being positioned as a major step towards building a faster, more coordinated and citizen-centred emergency response system in Nigeria, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that Nigerians can access appropriate assistance through one simple and toll-free number during emergencies.
