…urges adherence to building codes for heavy infrastructure
By Gabriel Ewepu
ABUJA: The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) has allayed fears over the recent earth tremor in Abuja, saying Nigeria is not prone to earthquakes.
The Director-General of the agency, Prof. Olusegun Ige, stated this on Thursday at a press conference at the NGSA headquarters in Abuja, where he provided details of the tremor recorded in the Federal Capital Territory on August 4, 2026.
Ige explained that the incident was a low-magnitude earth tremor and not an earthquake, adding that it posed no threat to lives and property.
He said the agency considered it necessary to sensitise Nigerians and provide a detailed report on the incident to dispel concerns arising from the tremor.
The NGSA boss disclosed that the shock was felt at the logistics unit of the Defence Intelligence Agency, Mambila Barracks, Asokoro, parts of the NNPC Towers and some buildings in the Central Business District.
According to him, the event was recorded at the NGSA seismic monitoring station at 11:23:27 a.m., local time, at a distance of about four kilometres from the epicentre.
Ige said the agency continued monitoring seismic activity for more than five days after the incident, adding that the waveform signals recorded by the seismogram showed only baseline noise, indicating that the tremor had completely subsided.
He said the NGSA monitoring team subsequently conducted a follow-up assessment of areas where the tremor was felt to document the experiences and determine whether there were any effects.
The areas visited included the Defence Intelligence Agency at Mambila Barracks, Asokoro, NNPC Towers and some buildings within the CBD.
“In all the buildings inspected by the monitoring team, there was absolutely no evidence of any structural damage, nor was there any report of injury or serious discomfort from any person living in any of the affected areas,” he said.
According to Ige, analysis of the waveform and seismic signals showed that the tremor was a low-moment event, with low amplitude and a very brief shock period lasting about five seconds from an originating depth of less than one kilometre.
He said the possible cause was an intra-plate response to accumulated stresses that may have originated in the deeper crust and were aided by the reactivation of northeast-southwest and northwest-southeast conjugate sets of strike-slip faults running through Nigeria.
He explained that the movement of the faults could trigger minor tremors, which dissipate through secondary fractures to points of impact.
“NGSA maintains that the very low magnitude and isolated nature of the tremor make it a micro-event that lacks the required energy to damage building foundations, cause cracks on walls or trigger secondary hazards, and therefore poses no threat to lives and properties, except for the discomfort of the shake,” Ige said.
He stressed that seismic activity occurred in Nigeria regularly, although most events were too weak to be felt by residents.
“Every day we have seismicity going on. It’s not all of them that we feel,” he said.
NGSA seeks more monitoring stations
Ige, however, called for improved monitoring of seismic activities across the country, noting that the agency currently operates only five monitoring stations.
He urged the Federal Government to expand the number of NGSA monitoring stations and provide adequate logistics and funding to facilitate effective monitoring and accurate analysis of seismic events.
He also called on the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to require major quarry and mining operators to install seismic monitoring equipment at their sites to complement government monitoring stations.
On infrastructure, the NGSA boss urged government to strengthen enforcement of standard seismic building codes for heavy infrastructure and industrial projects in Abuja and other cities.
Agency gives emergency contact
Ige also urged Nigerians to promptly report unusual earth movements to the agency.
He gave the NGSA customer service number as 0913 944 2811, which he said members of the public could call to report earth movements and seek information.
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