The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is worried about the underutilisation of the country’s emergency communications centres (ECC).
NCC, which disclosed that there are 27 functional ECCs spread across the country, hinted that four more centres would be added before the end of July.
Speaking on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, the commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Mouka, in Lagos, said Nigerians are not using the ECCs for emergencies, “rather, what they do most is to make prank calls, denying people with urgent issues.”
However, Mouka said usage of the centres has helped to save in critical times, such as during armed robbery attacks, fire outbreak among others.
He called on Nigerians to make use of the centres regularly when the need arises, adding that the 112 Emergency Toll-Free number remains very functional.
Checks by The Guardian showed that the ECCs are currently located in the FCT, Adamawa, Imo, Enugu, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Plateau, Ogun, Kano, Katsina, Ekiti, Cross River and Edo. Others are Kaduna, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Benue, Kogi, Bauchi, Osun, Zamfara, Kebbi, Gombe and Taraba states.
To further modernize the centres, the NCC initiated the deployment of CAD for the response agencies. The Commission has deployed the CAD system to the commands of six response agencies including the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), States Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), as well as in Ambulance and Fire Service operations in some states.
Some of the states that have benefitted from the deployment of the CAD equipment to transform and upgrade their ECCs into an Internet protocol-based facility are Ogun, Cross River, Enugu, Kwara, Kano, Adamawa and FCT. The Commission plans to upgrade the remaining operational ECCs soon.
In a remark on the CAD deployment, EVC Danbatta, said the Commission will continue to modernise the ECCs from time to time to keep them effective and to respond appropriately to the dynamics of emergency cases, in keeping with its objective of enhancing the security of lives and property in the country.
“Over the years, the Centres have been transforming lives and helping many citizens to survive emergencies and other life-threatening circumstances through instant dispatch of emergency calls received to Emergency Response Agencies (ERA). This intervention has had a very positive impact on the lives of Nigerians,” Danbatta said.
The CAD is an automated dispatch software solution deployed for the seamless transmission of calls from the ECC to the relevant ERAs via the click of a button on the Call Agent’s System.
