The Ogun State Government has again shut some schools in Ijebu-Ode, Ago-Iwoye and Ijebu-Igbo after more than 100 pupils were reportedly hospitalised on Wednesday following exposure to an offensive gaseous substance.

The affected pupils were taken to the State Hospital, Ijebu-Ode, the General Hospital, Ijebu-Igbo, and other healthcare facilities for treatment.

Among the worst-hit schools were Ijebu-Igbo Girls Grammar School, Anglican Girls Grammar School, Ijebu-Ode, Itamerin Comprehensive High School, and Ago-Iwoye.

A video circulating on social media showed some pupils fainting and being rushed to hospitals after inhaling the substance, which the state government had previously identified as methane.

A teacher at one of the affected schools, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity on Wednesday, said the incident occurred at about 10am, when pupils and staff began experiencing breathing difficulties and fainting.

“The pupils and staff started inhaling the gas and began to have difficulty breathing. Some of them fainted and were rushed to hospitals,” the teacher said.

The teacher added that some schools in Ago-Iwoye had to close around 11am as the situation became increasingly alarming.

“The worst-hit schools include Ijebu-Igbo Girls Grammar School and Anglican Girls Grammar School in Ijebu-Ode. Some parents who heard about the incident also came to pick up their children because nobody knew what was happening,” the teacher said.

The teacher expressed concern that the gas emissions had been recurring since April, exposing pupils and school staff to repeated health risks.

“We are all anxious about our health and that of our pupils. I think it is taking the government too long to get to the root of this mysterious gas leakage. The government has to do something quickly before it gets too late,” the teacher added.

Wednesday’s incident was the fourth reported occurrence of the gaseous emissions in the Ijebu area since April, renewing concerns over the safety of pupils and residents.

However, the state government has assured the residents that the situation “is under control.”

In April, about 40 pupils were reportedly affected, while more than 120 others were hospitalised following another exposure in May. Another incident on June 1 reportedly left 69 pupils needing medical attention.

Schools previously affected included Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Epe Garage, Ijebu-Ode, Anglican Girls Grammar School, Ijebu-Ode, and St Anthony Grammar School, Ijebu-Imusin, among others.

Following an earlier occurrence, Governor Dapo Abiodun said the state government was working with the Ministries of Environment and Health, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and the Department of Geology at Olabisi Onabanjo University to establish the cause of the emissions.

Abiodun said gas analysers had been installed in affected schools after the first incident and that preliminary findings identified the substance as methane.

“Preliminary findings suggest there may be geological factors involved, possibly fault lines common to these locations, which could be responsible for the emissions.

We are awaiting the final report from the professionals handling the investigation,” the governor said in June.

When contacted on Wednesday, the state Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, said the government was on top of the situation.

Also speaking, a senior special assistant to the governor and general manager of the Ogun State Environmental Agency, Kehinde Bello, who visited affected areas in Ijebu-Ode and Ijebu-Igbo, linked the latest incident to underground gas emissions previously recorded in the area.

Bello said the situation was under control, assuring residents that the government would find a lasting solution to the recurring problem.

He said government investigations had indicated that the phenomenon was a natural occurrence associated with geological and tectonic fault lines, rather than sabotage or a gas pipeline leak.

Bello urged residents to remain calm, adding that the affected pupils were expected to recover after receiving medical attention.

He also advised residents exposed to the odour to cover their noses and mouths with wet handkerchiefs rather than wear nose masks.

PUNCH Metro reports that medical personnel were attending to the affected students at various hospitals as of the time of filing this report.

The latest incident has heightened concerns over the recurring emissions and the potential risks to children, teachers and other residents, amid calls for the government to establish the precise source and implement a lasting solution.

Source: punchng.com

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The Ekiti and Kebbi State Houses of Assembly have endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment to pave the way for the establishment of state police, with Ekiti passing the bill and Kebbi lawmakers adopting a resolution in support of decentralised policing to tackle insecurity.

Before the latest endorsements, at least 13 states — Osun, Edo, Oyo, Rivers, Zamfara, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ogun, Delta, Taraba, Cross River, Plateau and Enugu — had passed the bill.

The endorsements by Ekiti and Kebbi bring the number of states that have backed the proposed amendment to 15.

The constitutional amendment requires the support of at least 24 of Nigeria’s 36 states, representing a two-thirds majority.

On Wednesday, the Kebbi State House of Assembly endorsed the proposed establishment of state police, with 20 lawmakers backing the initiative aimed at strengthening security and protecting lives and property across the country.

The resolution was adopted during plenary presided over by the Speaker, Salihu Dangoje, following deliberations on the proposal presented by the chairman of the House Committee on Internal Security, Muhammad Garba Bena.

Four members of the 24-member Assembly were reportedly absent from the session on official assignments.

Speaking after the plenary, Bena said the lawmakers supported the proposal because of the need to strengthen security operations and improve responses to threats in Kebbi State and other parts of Nigeria.

According to him, the proposed arrangement would empower state governments to establish their own police services and recruit personnel in line with the provisions of the law.

Bena said, “The establishment of state police will go a long way in strengthening security operations, improving responses to security threats and protecting lives and property in Kebbi State and Nigeria at large.”

The Speaker subsequently announced the House’s adoption of the resolution in support of the establishment of state police services.

In Ekiti State, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Babatunde Oke, said in a statement made available in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday that “following the passage of the bill, the Speaker of the Assembly, Adeoye Aribasoye, had directed the Clerk of the House to transmit the document to the National Assembly, alongside the observations made by the state legislature.”

The bill, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, proposing a constitutional framework for decentralised policing, was passed at the Assembly’s sitting on Wednesday, having been supported by the 21 members present.

Oke stated, “The Speaker described the proposed establishment of state police as a matter that had remained at the forefront of national discourse for more than two decades.”

Aribasoye, who said that the Ekiti Assembly had a historic opportunity to make its position known on the issue, stressed the need for effective and responsive security, noting that “the challenges of policing in Nigeria require practical solutions capable of addressing the concerns of citizens.”

He added, “Nigerians have repeatedly expressed concerns over delayed responses to distress calls, limitations in operational reach and the distance between law enforcement agencies and the communities they were meant to protect.

“Inadequate and poorly coordinated local policing in some areas has contributed to insecurity, threatening livelihoods, disrupting education, undermining business confidence and eroding public trust,” he said.

The speaker said that a properly structured state police system could strengthen accountability by bringing policing leadership and oversight closer to the people and their elected representatives, subject to constitutional safeguards.

He stated that the country could not afford unnecessary delays in addressing security challenges, describing state police as a long-overdue practical necessity rather than a mere theoretical preference.

Oke stated that the Committee of the Whole House, in its report on the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, “recommended that the Assembly grant concurrence to the proposed constitutional alteration, subject to an amendment to Section 317A(5).

“The committee reported that it had considered the bill clause by clause and deliberated on the proposed constitutional framework for the establishment and operation of State Police Services.

“The committee subsequently recommended that the House grant its concurrence to the bill,” the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs chairman stated.

Source: punchng.com

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