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Abstract

This paper focuses on the review of the magnetic and radiometric methods of geophysical surveys in Nigeria. It evaluates the areas/regions covered, techniques adopted vis-à-vis different software used in the investigations, the results of the investigation, and also highlighted some recommendations from articles reviewed. From the review, the southeastern part of the country revealed maximum deeper depths of 2 km, 4.85 km and 7 km while the north central part of the country revealed maximum deeper depths ranges between 0.5 km, 5.66 km, 3.24 km and 2.4 km. Also, maximum depths of 2.11 km and 1.5 km were revealed in the Northwest as against 2.8 km and 3.6 km in the southwestern part of the country. From the radiometric method, the radiogenic heat production values in most parts of Nigeria fall within the range of 0.01 μWm -3 to 5.43 μWm -3 . Based on the overall results obtained from the mean concentration, internal and external hazards from the south-south and southwest of the country, it can be concluded that the soils in the areas are safe for use in constructing dwelling places in the regions. However, the coverage in this paper is by no means its entirety for the country. There is the need to carry out more of geophysical surveys on radiometric method in the northwestern part of the country, especially Sokoto Basin. It is therefore, the authors view that this paper would serve as a reference and stimulate interests in having more geophysical investigations focusing on the integration of these two methods with a view to covering some gaps in the field and pay attention to areas uncovered.