A rock from a quarry blast crashing through the roof of a classroom during an examination and injuring students and teachers in Abuja, the nation’s capital is something that should alarm everyone.
Development Diaries reports that Abuja residents are bearing the brunt of poorly regulated quarrying companies, according to an exclusive by Premium Times.
On 29 November, JSS 3 students at Graceland High School in Baupma Dutse, Abuja, were in the middle of their third-term examination when a rock from a nearby quarry blast tore through their classroom roof.
Thirteen-year-old Chisom Ibekwem was among 11 students and two teachers injured by fragments from the impact.
According to the report, among dozens of quarry sites in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), a similar pattern of hazardous practices and unregulated activities at the quarries have been discovered.
The report also reveals that a quarry site operated by a Chinese company in ACO, an Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) estate in Lugbe, has been accused of destroying properties since it commenced operations years ago.
This is a direct threat to the safety of children, educators, and residents living near quarry sites, because when blasting is powerful enough to penetrate a school building, damage homes, and fill communities with dust and fear, it shows that everyday life in these areas has become unsafe.
Citizens are living with noise and pollution and with the real risk of injury inside their homes, schools, and shops.
What happened to Chisom and her classmates was predictable. It reflects weak environmental regulation enforcement, poor land-use planning, and neglect of public safety where industrial activity is allowed to operate too close to homes and schools.
The failure is first a regulatory enforcement problem. Nigeria’s quarrying and blasting regulations clearly set safety conditions, including limits within 1,000 metres of blasting sites and technical rules on how explosives should be used.
Yet, quarries are reportedly operating close to residential buildings and still blasting rocks with enough force to damage roofs and injure people. If these rules were properly enforced, flyrock would not reach a classroom, and residents would not be repairing ceilings and solar panels every year.
There is also a permitting and audit failure. Quarry operators are required to carry out Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and undergo periodic compliance checks, but the public cannot see these documents or verify whether the companies are meeting safety conditions.
When communities do not know what was approved, how often inspections happen, or what sanctions were given, secrecy protects the operators and weakens accountability. This lack of transparency makes it easier for dangerous practices to continue unchecked.
Sanctions and transport control are also failing. The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) reportedly sealed the quarry after the incident, yet the site reopened quickly.
This suggests weak follow-through or possible regulatory capture. At the same time, quarry trucks are damaging roads, raising dust, and creating accident risks through reckless haulage.
This shows a breakdown in coordination among enforcement agencies responsible for road safety, environmental protection, and infrastructure management.
There is also the issue of child safety and health rights, because children, teachers, women, the elderly, and low-income residents are bearing the highest harm from a system that has allowed dangerous activity to continue unchecked.
Communities and residents should immediately organise themselves to create an enforceable paper trail by submitting a joint petition to NESREA, the Ministry of Solid Minerals, and the FCT Minister demanding a stop-blast order, a compliance audit, and public disclosure of all permits and approvals.
They should formally request copies or proof of the Environmental Impact Assessments, blasting plans, and recent compliance audits of each quarry operating in the area.
At the same time, residents and school authorities should begin a simple incident register that records blast times, vibration levels, dust conditions, property damage, and any health symptoms, supported by photos and medical reports where injuries occur.
Parents, teachers, and affected residents should also file structured compensation claims for injuries and damages, while pressing for road safety enforcement such as speed limits, clear signage, and restricted haulage routes.
Schools in the area should develop a safety protocol that includes blast-day alerts, safe-room procedures, emergency contacts, and routine reporting to regulators.
NESREA and the Ministry of Solid Minerals should enforce immediate suspension of any quarry operating within unsafe limits near homes and schools and publish the enforcement actions taken.
The FCT authorities including the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), the Office of the FCT Minister, and the relevant area councils should create and maintain a public quarry register showing site locations, licence status, EIA approvals, inspection dates, and sanction history.
Regulators must require quarries to install independent vibration and air-quality monitoring devices with data accessible to the public, and they must enforce mandatory blast warnings and advance notice to nearby residents, schools, and clinics.
A compensation and repairs fund financed by quarry operators should be established to cover property damage, medical bills, and relocation where necessary.
Where flyrock incidents occur, regulators must conduct and publish technical investigations and sanction both operators and blasting contractors.
Responsibility lies with clear duty-holders. NESREA must enforce compliance and sanctions, the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development must ensure proper licensing conditions and EIA compliance.
Quarry operators themselves must design safe blasting operations, suppress dust, protect roads, warn communities before blasts, and compensate for damages.
Photo credit: Popoola/Premium Times
