Fossil plate boundaries in West Africa and their bearing on seismotectonics

An Evaluation of the 11<sup>th</sup> September, 2009 Earthquake and Its Implication for Understanding the Seismotectonics of South Western Nigeria

“…Most of the earthquakes that have occurred in this region have their epicentres near these faults and have been attributed to instability along these ancient suture zones [25]- [27] [29]- [31]. The close link between these earthquake epicentres and ancient suture zones in West Africa has also been shown [32]. There has also been suggestion of the Atlantic fracture zones projecting into the Nigerian continental landmass [4] [12] [33].…”

Seismotectonic lineament mapping over parts of Togo-Benin-Nigeria shield

“…Eze et al (2011) suggested that the zones of weakness resulting from magmatic intrusions and other tectonic activities in the sediments could be a possible mechanism for the intraplate tremors experienced in the shield. Onuoha and Ezeh (1992) in their examination of the association of fossil plate boundaries and seismotectonics events in West Africa observed that there exist a relationship between fossil plate boundaries/suture zones and seismic events in the region, indicating the importance of lineament mapping in the study of intraplate earthquake events in the region. This study therefore seeks to delineate the discontinuities within the study area to provide further insight into the tectonic setting of the region and its relation to the reoccurring seismic events within the shield.…”