National Economic Council (NEC) of Nigeria has officially approved 112 as the unified, toll-free national emergency number to streamline responses to security, medical, fire, and natural disasters.
It is part of measures to strengthen Nigeria’s emergency lifeline and build a unified and coordinated national response to emergencies.
NEC also approved the establishment of a multi-agency implementation committee and programme coordination led by the Office of the Vice President and the National Communications Commission (NCC).
The approval was part of decisions taken at the 157th meeting of the NEC held virtually and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Shettima said the 112 emergency lifeline had become necessary to prevent delay caused by bureaucratic bottlenecks, noting that what the citizens seek urgently when confronted by a natural disaster or insecurity is an urgent response and not bureaucracy.
“This is not only a technical reform. It is a test of the state’s humanity. In moments of fire, accident, robbery, medical emergency, flood, violence, or panic, citizens do not need bureaucracy.
“They need a response. They need to know one number to call, one system to trust, and one coordinated chain of action that moves quickly enough to save lives,” he stated.
He explained that while Nigeria is not beginning from zero, as the emergency number had been in existence, what is required at the moment “is coordination, adoption, standard operating procedures, public awareness, institutional ownership, and trust”.
The vice president described NEC as the nation’s economic engine room, where the federal government and the states must convert the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu into practical outcomes.
