Oryza sativa japonica (ofada rice) is largely grown in Aramoko, Abakaliki and Ofada are communities and consumed by both the poor and rich in Nigeria. A total of twenty ofada rice farmlands were identified in each study area and rice samples were randomly collected, thoroughly mixed to make a representative sample from each farmland. Soil samples were collected in each farm to a depth of 5-15cm from at least eight different points and thoroughly mixed together to form a representative sample. The samples were thereafter taken to the laboratory for preparation and spectroscopic analysis. A well-calibrated NaI(Tl) gamma-ray detector was used in spectrometric analysis of the samples and descriptive statistics was used to analyze the results.

The respective mean ⁴⁰K, ²³⁸U and ²³²Th activity concentrations in the rice were 261.8±52.5Bq/kg, 9.6±1.2Bq/kg and 8.7±1.0Bq/kg (Ofada); 257.3±39.0Bq/kg, 9.3±1.1Bq/kg and 7.8±1.8Bq/kg (Abakaliki); and 248.2±54.8Bq/kg, 9.3±0.9Bq/kg and 7.6±1.5Bq/kg (Aramoko). The respective mean ⁴⁰K, ²³⁸U and ²³²Th activity concentrations in the soils were 333.9±62.8Bq/kg, 11.1±1.1Bq/kg and 11.0±1.4Bq/kg (Ofada); 306.8±36.0Bq/kg, 10.7±0.8Bq/kg and 9.4±1.8 Bq/kg (Abakaliki) and 321.8±42.4Bq/kg, 10.9±0.5Bq/kg and 9.5±0.6Bq/kg (Aramoko). The highest mean ingestion dose of 106.0±8.0µSv/y and outdoor effective dose of 32.4±3.40µSv/y were recorded in Ofada community. The highest mean ingestion cancer risk of (0.33±0.004) x10^-3was recorded in Aramoko. The results indicated significantly lower radionuclide ingestion dose than the world limit value of 290µSv/y and lower cancer risks than the UNSCEAR recommended limit of 0.29x10^-3, therefore consumption of ofada rice from the areas may not pose any serious health impact.