By Ghazali Ibrahim
Nigeria’s national emergency telephone number, 112, has come under fresh scrutiny after it failed to connect during a live television test, raising concerns about the reliability of a service the Federal Government has repeatedly urged citizens to use during emergencies.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, November 10, during Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, when Seun Okinbaloye, the programme’s presenter, attempted to dial the emergency number following a challenge from Alwan Hassan, a member of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council.
Hassan had described the emergency line as one of the achievements of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, urging the presenter to dial 112 and demonstrate how Nigerians could access emergency assistance.
However, the call failed to connect, prompting Okinbaloye to declare that the number was not working.
Although Hassan maintained that the service was operational, he suggested that the failed connection could have resulted from network problems.
The APC chieftain further claimed that he had successfully used the number on previous occasions and explained that calls were supposed to be directed to emergency communication centres, where operators would identify the nature of the emergency and contact the appropriate response agencies.
He also disclosed that the Abuja emergency communication centre was ready but said the President wanted the centres across the country to be properly aligned before a full rollout.
Hassan expressed hope that the process would be completed by March 2027.
The failed demonstration has raised questions about the readiness of the emergency response system, particularly as the Federal Government had earlier encouraged Nigerians to rely on the number for urgent assistance.
In April 2026, the National Economic Council approved 112 as Nigeria’s single national emergency number to provide a unified channel for reporting medical emergencies, road accidents, fires, security threats and other distress situations.
The approval was intended to address the fragmented nature of Nigeria’s emergency response system, where citizens often have to contact different agencies depending on the nature of an incident.
In August, the Federal Government, through the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System, again urged Nigerians to dial 112 for emergency medical assistance and published additional state-specific emergency contact numbers.
However, in September, the government announced that relevant agencies, including the Nigerian Communications Commission, Nigeria Police Force, National Emergency Management Agency and Federal Road Safety Corps, were still working on an operational roadmap and standard procedures for the nationwide implementation of the service.
The government’s September announcement indicated that the nationwide coordination process was still being developed, despite earlier public instructions encouraging Nigerians to use the number.
Further concerns emerged after a Punch correspondent also reportedly failed to connect to 112, although an X user in Umuahia, Abia State, claimed to have successfully reached the service.
The differing experiences suggest that the emergency line may not be consistently accessible across locations and networks.
With the government presenting 112 as a central point for emergency assistance, questions remain over whether Nigerians can reliably reach responders when confronted with life-threatening situations.
For citizens facing armed attacks, road accidents, medical emergencies or fire outbreaks, the effectiveness of an emergency number depends not only on its announcement but also on whether calls are answered and assistance is promptly dispatched.
