Nigerian media personality and entrepreneur Noble Igwe has defended the country’s 112 emergency number after it failed to connect during a live television demonstration.
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The controversy followed an exchange on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where Alwan Hassan, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council, challenged the programme’s presenter, Seun Okinbaloye, to dial 112 to demonstrate its functionality.
However, repeated attempts by the presenter to reach the emergency line during the broadcast on Tuesday were unsuccessful, prompting questions about the service’s reliability and accessibility during emergencies.
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Reacting to the incident on X (formerly Twitter), Igwe criticised Nigerians for drawing conclusions about the emergency number based on the television demonstration.
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“Nigerians are behaving like they know it all, 112 is ONLY active in an emergency situation and that was no emergency. The fact that it failed on National TV does not mean that it will fail you, it may not connect in the first few days,” he wrote.
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Igwe argued that the failed demonstration did not necessarily mean the emergency number would be inaccessible when Nigerians needed urgent assistance.
He maintained that the public should not dismiss the service based solely on what happened during the live broadcast.
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His comments have generated further discussion online, with Nigerians expressing different views about the emergency line and its reliability.
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While some may agree with his defence, others continue to question why the number failed to connect during a live demonstration, particularly given its importance in emergency situations.
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