The Federal Government says it has commenced a holistic investigation into the root causes of the recent earth tremors that rattled Mpape, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
The tremors, which began on the night of September 16, 2024, alarmed residents, with reports of six to eight seismic events being recorded.
They were said to be first detected around 11:00 pm, leading to widespread concern due to loud noises and ground shaking in the vicinity.
The Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Mr. Uche Nnaji, assured the public that a team of experts from the Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics, an arm of the National Space Research and Development Agency, NASRDA, was actively examining the tremors using sophisticated earthquake analysis software.
According to data from seismographs, the tremors included three foreshocks and three aftershocks, with the main seismic event occurring at 11:18:37 pm, which recorded a local magnitude of 3.1 and a focal depth of 11 km.
This significant geological disturbance, experts believe, may be attributed to the reactivation of faults within the Mpape locality, a region that has experienced similar tremors in the past, notably between September 5 and 7, 2018.
Nnaji emphasized that while these tremors have understandably caused alarm, residents should remain calm as NASRDA continues to monitor the situation closely.
He also assured that the government is analyzing comprehensive data from seismic and GNSS stations to formulate mitigation strategies.
Earth tremor: We’ve begun investigation – Nigerian Govt