Quarry Sealed Again As NESREA Probes Blast

National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has shut down Dai Jin Jia Quarry in ACO Village on Airport Road, Abuja, after a blasting operation allegedly led to the death of a 10-year-old boy.

On behalf of the director-general, Prof. Innocent Barikor, the agency’s director of Environmental Quality Control, Mr Elijah Udofia, said the facility had been sealed but continued operations in defiance of regulatory directives, exposing residents to grave danger.

He described the latest incident as a tragic consequence of the quarry’s “recalcitrant” posture toward environmental and safety standards.

Udofia disclosed that preliminary investigations conducted by NESREA officials, alongside officers of the Nigeria Police Force, Aco Division, uncovered major operational lapses.

According to him, the quarry failed to produce a documented Blasting Operation Plan and could not provide records of the Charge Load Density (CLD) adding that the quantity of explosives used during blasting is in clear violation of Regulation 23 of the National Environmental (Quarrying and Blasting Operations) Regulations, 2013.

Even more alarming, he noted, was the discovery that the facility’s warning alarm system, meant to alert nearby residents ahead of blasting, was faulty, raising serious concerns about risk management and emergency preparedness.

NESREA said the quarry has now been sealed again pending the outcome of ongoing investigations, vowing that all culpable parties will be held accountable. The agency warned that the tragedy underscores the life-and-death implications of flouting environmental regulations and failing to safeguard host communities.

The regulator further urged operators in the quarrying sector to strictly comply with environmental laws, stressing that profit cannot be placed above human safety. It pledged intensified monitoring and enforcement actions to deter future violations and prevent similar incidents nationwide.