There was palpable anxiety among parents and
guardians in the Ogba axis of Lagos metropolis
Thursday, after 13 students of Ogba Junior
Grammah School, Ogba, Ojodu Local Council
Development Area, LCDA, collapsed after
inhaling an unidentified poisonous fumes
discharged from one of the cottage factories in
Ogba Shopping Arcade.
This came four months after 25 of the students
of the same school collapsed after inhaling an
unidentified chemical waste discharged into
drainage by a Photo Laboratory, situated in the
Shopping Arcade.
When Vanguard visited the school, the
management and staff were wondering which
company would have discharged such
hazardous fumes this time around.
Also, it was observed that parents of the students raced to the scene to verify the
condition of their children. While those whose
children weren’t affected by the emission
rushed them back home, some were also sighted wailing over the ugly incident.
Mr. Oladokun, the father of one of the victims,
who rushed to the scene immediately he heard
of the incident, said: “I was in the office when
my wife called me that my daughter, who is in
JSS 3 was also affected.”
The incidents was said to have occurred at
about 12:40 pm while the students were still in
their classes.
Vanguard gathered that the leak of the
dangerous gas was least expected as it
enveloped the premises making the victims
unconscious.
Officials of the National Emergency
management Agency, NEMA and its Lagos state
counterpart, LASEMA and the Lagos State
Environmental Health Monitoring Unit, SEHMU
arrived the scene and rushed the unconscious
victims to the Lagos State University Teaching
Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja for treatment.
Affected students
Of the 13 affected students, one was a male
while the rest were females. Vanguard
investigation revealed that one of the students
was in critical condition and has been admitted
at the Intensive Care Unit.
Some of the affected students were: Tijani
Mariam, Subaidat Oladokun, Adebiyi Taiwo,
Muiz Rodiat, Ogunbami Omolade, Onaigbe
Blessing, Karimat Akiode, Rasak Gbolahan and
Modupe Idowu.
Vanguard learnt that although the company
responsible for discharging the chemical was
yet to be identified, the state government has
shut the school and the shopping complex
indefinitely.
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