The Federal Government has directed relevant agencies to develop a comprehensive operational roadmap for the nationwide rollout of Nigeria’s 112 national emergency number.

A committee comprising the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other relevant agencies has been constituted to finalise the roadmap and standard operating procedures for presentation to the National Economic Council (NEC).

The development was disclosed on Tuesday in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha.

The NEC recently approved 112 as Nigeria’s single universal toll-free emergency number, replacing fragmented emergency lines and providing citizens with easier access to assistance during fires, accidents, medical emergencies and security incidents.

Speaking at the National Emergency Number 112 Project stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, Vice President Kashim Shettima directed the committee to ensure that its proposed framework conforms with global best practices.

Shettima urged the stakeholders to accelerate the process and finalise the roadmap and standard operating procedures for NEC’s endorsement.

“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,” the Vice President was quoted as saying.

The Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, pledged the Nigeria Police Force’s support for the unified emergency number, describing it as “a significant step towards ensuring that citizens have a simple and reliable means of accessing emergency assistance.”

Disu noted that people facing armed attacks, accidents, fires, medical emergencies, kidnapping and other life-threatening situations often struggle to identify the appropriate agency to contact, stressing that a single number should connect callers to the relevant response agency.

Earlier, the Personal Assistant to the President on e-Governance, Office of the Vice President, Lydia Aina, said Nigeria’s emergency response system currently operates across multiple agencies, systems and jurisdictions, creating fragmentation in how emergencies are received and coordinated.

She said the initiative seeks to replace fragmented state-level systems with a coordinated response mechanism and eventually establish an integrated national framework.

According to Aina, the meeting focused on the infrastructure and operational requirements needed to make 112 functional, including “the people, the agencies, the standards that make the number actually work when citizens 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 explained.

Other stakeholders who pledged their agencies’ support included NEMA Director-General Zubaida Umar, FRSC Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed and National Orientation Agency (NOA) Director-General Lanre Issa-Onilu, among others.