No evidence criminals behind Ogun schools’ gas leaks – Commissioner

Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Ola Oresanya, has detailed the government's investigation into recurring gas leaks in and around Ijebu-Ode, which have caused over 200 students to require medical attention in the past two months. The unusual nature of the incidents prompted a thorough examination of potential causes.

Initially, industrial activity was suspected given Ogun's industrial landscape. However, Ijebu-Ode itself has a low concentration of industries, leading investigators to rule out this possibility. The focus then shifted to human activities. The team investigated individuals producing local insecticides using carbide and cattle urine, but this was also dismissed as the production sites were too far from the affected schools to explain the severity of the symptoms.

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When it happened the first time about two months ago, we did not have a clue about the type of gas that was released because our gas probes, which we installed across the state, were concentrated mainly in other industrial towns.

"When it happened the first time about two months ago, we did not have a clue about the type of gas that was released because our gas probes... were concentrated mainly in other industrial towns," Oresanya explained. The government subsequently installed air-monitoring systems within the schools and the town.

Subsequent incidents revealed the presence of methane with high levels of sulphide. Intriguingly, gas analyzers showed drastically different readings between the junior and senior sections of a school, with zero readings at one location and extremely high levels just 200 meters away. This anomaly, even after replacing a sensor, points to a complex and localized phenomenon that remains under investigation, with no evidence currently linking the leaks to criminal activity.

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The gas analysers we installed picked up the gas. It was detected to be methane with a high level of sulphide. Sulphide levels in the air were elevated, methane was very high, and the volume was massive.