The Nigerian Communication Commission has set up emergency communication centres in the Federal Capital Territory and 17 states, The Punch report.
The states are Benue, Kwara, Plateau, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo and Oyo.
Others are Cross River, Imo, Enugu, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Anambra and Adamawa.
Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Umar Danbatta, stated this at a security and emergency management award event in Abuja, adding that the move was aimed at tackling security challenges in the country.
In a keynote address entitled, ‘Leveraging Emergency Communication Centre for National Security’, Danbatta, who was represented at the event by the head of the centre, Chukwuma Azikiwe, noted that the NCC was working to make the country a more secure place.
He said the commission had provided a toll-free emergency telephone short code for members of the public to use in emergency situations.
He gave the toll-free emergency code as 112.
According to him, the centres are one-stop shops for receiving distress calls from the public and dispatching same to appropriate response agencies that are expected to respond to the need of the callers.
The response agencies were given as the police, Federal Road Safety Corps, fire service, ambulance service, among others.
Danbatta explained that the ECCs would provide members of the public easy, effective and coordinated access to the agencies in times of emergency or distress.
The NCC boss added that plans were underway for the inauguration of the centres in other states in the country, as well as a comprehensive awareness campaign on how to utilise the ECCs across the country.
Currently, he said the commission was working with relevant agencies to ensure effective management of the centres.
The Executive Secretary, Centre for Crisis Communications, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas (retd), commended the NCC for establishing the centre.
