Save these now, not when you need them. A locked phone’s emergency dialler will usually reach 112, but you will not remember the rest in a crisis.
The numbers
| For | Call |
|---|---|
| Any emergency, nationwide | 112 |
| Any emergency, Lagos State | 767 |
| Police | 199 |
| A crash or an obstruction on the road | 122 |
112 and 767 both reach the Lagos State emergency call centre, which dispatches the ambulance service, the fire service and the police. They are free from any network. If one does not connect, try the other.
122 is the FRSC, which patrols the highways and responds to crashes on them. Inside the city, 767 reaches the same help faster.
What to say
The call centre needs four things, in this order:
- Where you are. A landmark, not only a street name. “Opposite the filling station at the Ikeja Along bus stop” gets a team to you; “Obafemi Awolowo Way” does not. Lagos street numbering is unreliable and many streets have two names.
- What has happened, in one sentence.
- How many people are hurt, and whether anyone is not breathing or is bleeding heavily.
- A number they can call back, if it is not the phone you are using.
Stay on the line until they tell you to hang up.
Being realistic about response
Help comes, but it comes through Lagos traffic.
An ambulance from the LASEMA-coordinated state service can take a long time to reach you at rush hour, and a Third Mainland Bridge jam is the same for an ambulance as for everyone else. For a medical emergency where the patient can be moved, getting them to the nearest hospital yourself is often faster than waiting. Know where yours is before you need it.
Private ambulance services operate in Lagos and are worth having on your phone if you live on the island or in an estate. Many health insurance plans cover them; check yours.
In a medical emergency
A hospital may not refuse emergency treatment to someone brought in with a gunshot wound because there is no police report. The Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017 requires treatment first and the paperwork afterwards. In practice some private hospitals still ask for a deposit before they will admit anyone; the public general hospitals are the surer option when money is the obstacle.
Health insurance and Ilera Eko
Police
For a crime in progress, call 199 or 112.
To report a crime afterwards, go to the police station that covers the area where it happened and ask for the report to be written down. Ask for the report or extract number before you leave; an insurer, a bank or a phone network will want it.
The Nigeria Police Force’s own position is that bail is free. It says so on the walls of its stations. Nobody should ask you to pay to be released or for a statement to be taken, and you are entitled to refuse.
Fire
Call 767 or 112. Get everyone out first, then call.
Generator fires and gas cylinder fires are the commonest domestic causes in Lagos. Keep the generator outside and the gas cylinder outside the kitchen where you can, and never refuel a generator while it is running or hot.
Road crashes
If you are involved in a crash:
- Get out of the traffic lane if it is safe, and switch on your hazard lights
- Call 122 on a highway, or 767 in the city
- Photograph the vehicles, the plates and the scene before anything is moved
- Do not hand over money at the scene to settle it, whatever is said
A crowd gathers quickly at any Lagos crash, and not everyone in it is there to help. If you feel unsafe, stay in the locked car and wait for officials.