OGUN, Nigeria – The Ogun State Government has urged residents to use its dedicated emergency ambulance hotline, 08112000033, for medical assistance during road accidents and other emergencies, promising free treatment for victims taken to designated government hospitals for the first 48 hours.
The government made the appeal in a public awareness message shared on its social media platforms on Saturday, advising residents to save and share the number to improve access to emergency response services. It said contacting the state’s ambulance service directly could help reduce delays that may occur when calls to the national emergency number, 112, have to be transferred to the appropriate state agency. “Until Nigeria fully implements an advanced, location-based emergency call-routing system, contacting Ogun State’s ambulance service directly can help reduce communication delays and connect callers with local responders more quickly,” the statement said.
The government added that “in an emergency, every second counts”. The announcement followed a road accident at Saapade along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where Nollywood actor Kunle Afod had appealed for emergency assistance, saying he waited about 20 minutes without seeing an ambulance.
However, the state government disputed his account, saying an ambulance and Federal Road Safety Corps personnel arrived 10 minutes after the accident was reported. The government did not provide further details in the awareness message on the number of ambulances available, the areas covered or the hospitals designated to receive victims.
It urged residents to use the dedicated hotline when emergencies occur, stressing that prompt communication could help responders reach accident victims more quickly. The 48-hour free-treatment assurance is expected to ease the immediate financial burden on emergency victims, although residents may need further clarification on the hospitals covered, the types of treatment included and what happens after the initial period.
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