The Senate has began debating a plan to establish a consistent, toll-free national emergency number for individuals in all states.
The bill is titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Emergency Toll Service (NETS) to Provide Uniform, Accessible, and Rapid Emergency Response Through a Dedicated Toll-Free Number Nationwide, to Empower the Nigerian Communications Commission as the Regulator and for Related Matters, 2025 (SB 402)’.
During Tuesday’s session, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’adua, who represents Katsina Central, led the debate on the bill’s general principles.
He stated that the proposed law will consolidate Nigeria’s several emergency helplines into a single, easy-to-remember three-digit number, such as 112, or an option agreed upon following a public hearing.
The congressman stated that countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States have improved emergency results by using 999 and 911, respectively, while India implemented a universal emergency number in 2014.
He stated that Nigeria currently has multiple helplines for police, fire services, ambulance response, domestic violence, child protection, and disaster management.
The congressman observed that Lagos alone has multiple toll-free numbers connected to several authorities, which he described as confusing and unproductive during an emergency.
“Therefore, a toll-free emergency number would go a long way in ensuring that Nigerians in distress are just a call away from the relevant emergency institutions,” the senator said.
“The number would provide a one-stop shop for receiving distress calls from the public and dispatching the same to appropriate response agencies, who will respond to the needs of callers.”
He said calls or text messages to the national emergency line would automatically route to the nearest response centre, taking advantage of the fact that many Nigerians use mobile phones.
Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south, supported the bill and described it as “timely, very important, and urgently needed”.
“If we do this, we will be enhancing our security architecture and contributing significantly to solving the criminalities affecting the country,” he said.
“One of the impediments we are facing during this security crisis is lack of communication by various security agencies.”
Tahir Monguno, senate chief whip and senator representing Borno north, also backed the proposal.
He said the country must provide a simple and obstruction-free channel for citizens to report suspicious activities.
“This bill gives muscular expression to the need for the general public to report what they see,” he said.
Barau Jibrin, deputy senate president, who presided over the plenary, described the bill as a “wonderful arrangement to help the people of this country whenever it is implemented”.
The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Communications, which will report back in four weeks.
If passed, the bill will allow the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to govern the system and assure countrywide access to emergency services.
