13th March, 2014
Kazeem Ugbodaga
Students of Ogba Junior Grammar School, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, are now studying in fear as another female student inhaled poisonous gas on Wednesday and collapsed and was rushed to the hospital.
Thirteen students of the school had collapsed last Thursday after inhaling the poisonous gas. This is the third time such incident would happen in the school.
This time, the victim is Adijat Ogunshola, a Junior Secondary School 2 student. She was rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja, where doctors battled to save her life.
Breathing apparatus was fixed to her nose while drip was administered to her. The incident shows that the poisonous gas is being emited around the school and no one has any clue about where it is coming from. The Lagos State Government is at a loss over the source of the emission which has exposed the students to serious health hazard.
There was pandemonium at Ogba Junior Grammar School last Thursday when 13 students suddenly collapsed and fainted after inhaling gaseous emission at the school premises.
A similar incident occurred in the school in November 2013 when 25 students of the school became unconscious after inhaling gaseous substance.
Last Thursday’s incident occurred during the launch break as students were suddenly overwhelmed with gaseous odour and started collapsing one after the other until 13 students fainted. The affected students include 12 girls and one boy.
Some of the affected students were Memuna Tijani, Subeadat Oladokun, Taiwo Adebiyi, Rodiat Muiz, Omolade Ogunbami, Blessing Onaigbe, Karimot Akiyode, Modupe Idowu and Rasak Gbolahan. The students were also admitted at the Surgical Emergency Ward, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH.
Officials of the Lagos Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Lagos Ambulance Services, LASAMBUS, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA, State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit, SEHMU and the police went to the school to rescue the students.
The Ogba Shopping Mall, housing several shops, companies and Ecobank Nigeria Plc was shut down by LASEMA officials while hundreds of people working in the shopping complex were evacuated from the complex on the suspicion that the emission was emanating from there.