VIDEO: 112 emergency line fails live test after APC chieftain cites it as Tinubu achievement

• Nigeria’s 112 emergency line fails during a live television test.

• APC chieftain Alwan Hassan blames network issues and asks for more time.

• The incident raises fresh questions about the government's emergency response plans.

Nigeria recorded 7,156 road traffic crashes, 3,445 deaths and 22,292 injuries in the first nine months of 2026. For the full year before, the FRSC recorded 10,446 road traffic crashes, resulting in 5,289 deaths and 33,400 injuries, The Whistler reported.

Road accidents are just one of the emergencies Nigeria’s toll-free 112 line is supposed to help citizens report and get assistance for. But during a live television programme on Tuesday night, the number itself became the emergency that could not get through.

The moment unfolded on Channels Television’s Politics Today on November 10, when Alwan Hassan, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, cited the emergency line as one of the achievements of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

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Hassan challenged the programme’s host, Seun Okinbaloye, to test the number live on air.

“Take your phone and call 112,” Hassan said, urging the presenter to put the call on speaker and saying operators would ask callers about the nature of their emergency.

But when Okinbaloye dialled the number, the call failed to connect. “This number is not working,” the presenter said.

Hassan insisted that the emergency service was operational, suggesting that the problem could be linked to a network issue. Okinbaloye, however, pointed out that other calls were going through from the studio and said viewers were also sending messages claiming they could not connect to the number.

The APC chieftain maintained that he had successfully used the number before and explained that calls were meant to be received by emergency communication centres, where operators would determine the nature of the distress and alert the appropriate agency, including the police, ambulance service or Federal Road Safety Corps.

He also said the government was working on a system that could help emergency centres identify a caller's location through a dashboard, reducing the time spent trying to establish where an emergency was happening.

Hassan said the Abuja emergency centre was ready but suggested that President Tinubu wanted the system properly aligned across the country before a full rollout. He expressed hope that this would be achieved by March next year.

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When Okinbaloye suggested that the emergency line appeared to be another government promise that was yet to become fully functional, Hassan asked for more time.

“We’ll fulfil them. We’ll fulfil them with time. This is why we’re asking for more time,” he said.

The awkward live test has raised fresh questions because 112 is not a new idea in Nigeria. In April 2026, the National Economic Council approved 112 as Nigeria's national emergency number as part of plans for a unified emergency response system. 

Yet the failure of the number during a live television test, despite years of efforts to establish the service, has renewed concerns about whether Nigerians can rely on it when an actual emergency occurs. That concern is valid if you take into account the data cited above.