OGUN, Nigeria – The Federal Government has deployed a technical team to Ogun State to investigate recurring underground gas emissions linked to breathing difficulties and the hospitalisation of students in schools across the Ijebu axis.
The team, led by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), will investigate the source and composition of the emissions and recommend measures to prevent further incidents. The deployment was announced on Saturday during a joint briefing by the Federal Government’s ad hoc committee and the Ogun State Government in Ijebu-Ode.
The team leader and NUPRC Assistant Director, Prosper Okonedo, said the commission constituted the committee after receiving an initial assessment from the state government. He said the NUPRC Commission Chief Executive, Oritsemeyawa Eyesan, directed the formation of the team to investigate the incidents.
Okonedo said preliminary findings suggested that natural geological processes might be responsible but stressed that further technical investigations were necessary to establish the source. Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, described the incidents as an emerging environmental concern and urged residents to remain calm while investigations continued.
He said the emissions did not appear to be linked to petroleum pipelines, noting that there were no gas pipelines around the affected locations in Owode, Ikenne and Ijebu-Omu.
Professor Philip Ikhiane of Olabisi Onabanjo University, who leads the state’s technical investigation team, said preliminary geological surveys had identified underground structures, including possible faults and fractures, that could allow naturally occurring gases to reach the surface.
The investigation follows reports that more than 100 students from schools in Ijebu-Ode, Ago-Iwoye and Ijebu-Igbo were hospitalised after inhaling an unidentified substance.
A teacher at one of the affected schools said students and staff began experiencing breathing difficulties and fainting after the substance spread through the premises.
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