The Nigerian Senate is pushing forward a bill that will establish a single, toll-free national emergency number to streamline the country’s emergency response system.
The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Emergency Toll Service (NETS)… and to Empower the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)”, seeks to replace Nigeria’s multiple emergency helplines with one memorable three-digit number, similar to 911 in the U.S. or 999 in the U.K.
Leading the debate, bill sponsor Sen. Musa Yar’adua said a unified number is long overdue, stressing that Nigeria’s numerous state-level emergency lines are “confusing and counterproductive” during crises. He explained that all calls and texts would be routed to the nearest emergency response centre, taking advantage of Nigeria’s high mobile phone usage.
Senators strongly supported the bill.
Sen. Ali Ndume said the initiative was “timely, very important, and urgently needed,” arguing that Nigeria’s insecurity is worsened by a “lack of a coordinated and effective communication system.”
Also speaking, Sen. Tahir Monguno noted that the bill “gives muscular expression to the need for the general public to report what they see,” adding that a unified number would remove the barriers citizens currently face when trying to report incidents.
Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, who presided, praised the bill as one that would “truly help the people of this country once implemented.”
The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Communications for further work, with a report expected in four weeks.
