Pandemonium in Saki, Oyo State after Earthquake reports

The people of Saki, Oyo State are said to be leaving in fear over the recurring sound of earth tremor, with a recent report by Dr Adepelumi Adekunle Abraham of the Department of Geology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, stating that the risk of quake in the area had risen to 91.1 per cent.

People living around Saki, especially Medinat, Veterinary, Salam Salam, Abimbola layout and Ogbooro areas, have been subjected to fears over the recurring sound of an earth tremor.

Abraham in his report titled, “PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF EARTH TREMOR OCCURRENCE IN SHAKI AREA, SHAKI WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT, OYO STATE, said that, “After the earth tremor of 2009 in South western Nigeria, was felt in several towns and villages in Oyo, Osun and Ogun States, a detailed short-term probabilistic earthquake prediction was carried out by our team, our findings indicated the probability of earthquake occurrence in the study area between the year 2009 and 2028 increased from 2.8% to 91.1%. The result also showed that the probability of three events occurring has the highest likelihood within the predicted years. Also, found that the Weibull probability density model predicts a damaging earthquake (M= 5) before year 2020.

The issue has been brought to the attention of the National Assembly by the member representing Saki-West/Saki-East and Atisbo local governments at the House of Representatives, Honourable Olajide Olatubosun.

Olatubosun in a letter dated June 9, 2016, which was addressed to the Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara and entitled: “Matter of urgent public importance (standing Order VIII rule 46) urgent call on the Federal Government to investigate the persistence earth tremor currently being experienced in Saki, the headquarters of Saki-West local government area of Oyo State,” called the attention of the House and Federal Government to the “persistent vibrations/tremor in Saki.”

According to him “anytime the earth vibration/tremor occurs, the building and other physical structures in the affected areas would shake violently and this, he said was responsible for a large army of internally displaced persons (IDP), as they had to vacate their homes, farmlands and their places of business.”