Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state has ordered the immediate closure of Our Lady of Apostle Primary and Secondary Schools in Ijebu-Ode after a suspected gas leak left 30 students and two teachers hospitalised.

The governor also directed security agencies to launch a full investigation into the incident, which occurred shortly after the school’s morning assembly on Wednesday and reportedly caused breathing difficulties among students and staff.

According to the school’s Vice Principal, Mrs Adeola Borogun, several students began vomiting and fainting after a strange chemical odour spread across the premises, prompting the school management to request emergency assistance from State General Hospital Ijebu-Ode.

The hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Dr Banjo Adeoye, said most of the affected students and staff were in stable condition, while the exact substance responsible for the incident had yet to be identified.

In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, the governor said the investigation would determine the source of the gas and help prevent a recurrence.

He also ordered the establishment of a situation room at the General Hospital in Ijebu-Ode to provide free medical care to affected students and residents of nearby communities, including Makalewo, Ogbogbo, Molipa, Igbegba, Ikoto and Oke-Aje Market.

The state government assured residents there was no broader security threat linked to the incident, adding that officials from the Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency had deployed gas analysers to trace the source of the leak.

The commissioner, accompanied by Dare Alebiosu and permanent secretaries in the Ministries of Environment and Education, Dr Kafayat Lawal and Mrs Oluwatosin Oloko, visited the affected schools and the hospital where the victims were receiving treatment.