Senate Considers Bill To Establish Nationwide Toll-free Emergency Number

The Senate has taken a major step toward strengthening the country’s emergency response architecture by considering a bill seeking to establish a uniform, toll-free national emergency number for citizens across all states.

The proposed legislation, 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 (NCC) as the Regulator, and for Related Matters, 2025 (SB 402),” was taken for second reading at plenary on Tuesday.

Leading the debate, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’adua (APC, Katsina Central) explained that the proposed law would harmonise Nigeria’s numerous emergency numbers into one easily memorable three-digit number—such as 112, or an alternative agreed upon after the public hearing.

He noted that emergency numbers globally, such as 999 in the UK (introduced in 1937) and 911 in the United States (established in 1968), have saved countless lives by simplifying access to help in life-threatening situations. India’s unified emergency number, he added, became operational in 2014.

However, he said Nigeria currently operates multiple helplines across states—for the police, fire service, ambulance services, domestic violence, child abuse, and disaster response agencies.

Lagos State alone, he added, has several toll-free emergency numbers linked to different agencies—a situation Senators described as confusing and counterproductive during emergencies.

The bill, he explained, would ensure that calls or text messages sent to the national emergency number automatically route to the nearest operational emergency response centre, leveraging the fact that nearly 90% of Nigerians use mobile phones.

Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) strongly endorsed the bill, describing it as “timely, very important, and urgently needed.”

He emphasised that one of the biggest challenges contributing to Nigeria’s worsening insecurity was the lack of a coordinated and effective communication system between citizens and security agencies.

“If we do this, we will be enhancing our security architecture and contributing significantly to solving the criminalities affecting the country,” Ndume said, urging rapid passage of three bill and implementation.

Also supporting the bill, Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North) said unified communication channels are essential in a period marked by “grave security challenges across the country.”

He stressed that while security agencies consistently encourage citizens to report suspicious activities, the government must provide a simple, accessible, and obstruction-free avenue for such reports.

“This bill gives muscular expression to the need for the general public to report what they see,” he said, adding that a dedicated toll-free national line would eliminate barriers created by the current multiplicity of emergency numbers.

In his remarks, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, thanked the sponsor of the bill and contributors to the debate, commending the initiative as one that would “truly help the people of this country once implemented.”

The bill was thereafter referred to the Senate Committee on Communications for further legislative action, with instructions to report back within four weeks.

If passed and signed into law, the legislation will empower the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to regulate the system, coordinate emergency response agencies, and ensure seamless nationwide accessibility.