Ten Polytechnic Ibadan students who had inhaled toxic gas in the school’s laboratory were rendered unconscious yesterday, after a gaseous substance was allegedly poured into the hall by one of the students.
The ten students were sent to Adeoyo State Hospital and the University College Hospital, UCH, in Ibadan.
In order to evaluate the students’ condition, Oyo State’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, hurried to the hospital after receiving a panic call.
Ajetunmobi urged the administration of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the incident and make sure that those accountable are found and prosecuted.
Dr. Akintunde Ayinde, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry; Dr. Adekunle Aremu, the Director of Secondary Health Care and Training; Dr. (Mrs.) Kehinde Oyebode, the Director of Nursing Services; Mrs. Afusat Akande, the Director of Food, Water, and Laboratory Services; and members of the Rapid Response Team were among those who accompanied Ajetunmobi.
Dr. Taiwo Lasisi, the institution’s acting rector, praised the state government’s quick response to the emergency and pledged to find those responsible.
Adewumi Ogunjimi, the acting registrar, attested to the fact that the school’s administration had sent a letter to the state’s Commissioner for Health asking for an urgent medical answer.
It reads, “The institution hereby informs the Commissioner for Health of an emergency within the Middle Belt Campus of the institution.
“Some students receiving lectures were found to have inhaled some indeterminable substance, making them weak and dazed.
“The institution has taken immediate and proactive steps by evacuating the entire area.
“Some of the affected students are equally being attended to by medical doctors and other paramedic staff at the institution’s health centre.
“We, therefore, call on the ministry to immediately come into the institution for an on-the-spot assessment and other necessary actions.”