By Our Correspondent
National News – Panic erupted on Wednesday morning at Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, after a suspected gas leak exposed dozens of students and staff to a strange chemical substance.
The incident left 30 students and one teacher hospitalised, triggering an emergency response from health officials and local authorities.
The incident occurred shortly after the school’s morning assembly when a mysterious gas-like odour spread across the school premises.
According to eyewitnesses, students began coughing, vomiting, and struggling to breathe within minutes of inhaling the substance.
Several of them reportedly collapsed, causing alarm among teachers and school administrators.
Emergency services were immediately contacted, and ambulances rushed the affected individuals to the General Hospital, Ijebu Ode, for urgent medical treatment.
Hospital authorities confirmed that 30 students and one teacher were admitted, but reassured the public that most of them were in stable condition.
Speaking on the development, the Vice Principal of the junior section of the school, Mrs Adeola Borogun, clarified that there was no explosion at the school.
She described the situation as the spread of an unidentified chemical smell that caused vomiting and fainting among students.
Officials from the Ogun State government have begun investigations to determine what caused the gas leak and where it originated.
The Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, explained that environmental experts were being deployed with a gas analyser to examine the air quality and identify the chemical substance responsible.
Oresanya also dismissed rumours suggesting an industrial gas explosion nearby, noting that there are no industrial facilities around the school capable of causing such pollution.
He stated that early findings point to a localized gas leakage, though authorities are still analysing whether the source may have been from the school laboratory during a practical session or from somewhere within the surrounding community.
Meanwhile, the Chief Medical Director of the General Hospital, Ijebu Ode, Dr Banjo Adeoye, confirmed that the affected students were responding to treatment.
The Chairman of Ijebu Ode Local Government, Dare Alebiosu, also assured residents that no lives were lost and that the situation had been brought under control.
Authorities say further investigation will reveal the exact cause, concentration, and source of the gas, as safety checks continue around the school environment.
