The Federal Government has deployed a technical committee to Ogun State to investigate recurring underground gas emissions affecting schools and communities in the Ijebu axis.
The committee, set up by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), will work with the state government to establish the source of the emissions and recommend lasting solutions.
Speaking during a joint briefing and site assessment in Ijebu on Saturday, the committee’s team lead, Prosper Okonedo, said the intervention followed an earlier report submitted by the Ogun State Government.
Okonedo, an Assistant Director at the NUPRC, said the commission had yet to establish the exact cause of the emissions and would conduct an independent assessment before making recommendations.
He noted that similar underground gas seepage had been recorded in parts of Rivers and Delta states but stressed the need to investigate the situation in Ogun.
The state Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, said preliminary findings suggested that the emissions were caused by natural geological processes rather than pipeline leaks.
Oresanya explained that there were no gas pipelines around the affected areas, adding that experts were investigating underground geological formations believed to be responsible for the emissions.
He urged residents not to panic, saying there were no immediate plans to relocate communities.
Meanwhile, Professor Philip Ikhiane, a petroleum geochemistry expert at Olabisi Onabanjo University and head of the state’s technical investigation team, said preliminary geological studies had identified underground fractures and possible fault lines that could provide pathways for gas emissions.
The investigation follows repeated incidents in which students and staff in schools across Ijebu-Ode, Ijebu-Igbo, and Ago-Iwoye experienced breathing difficulties and fainting after inhaling an offensive gaseous substance.
More than 100 students were reportedly hospitalized during the latest incident in October, marking the fourth reported occurrence since April 2026.
Previous incidents were also recorded at Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Anglican Girls Grammar School, and other schools in the area.
The state government had earlier identified methane in samples from affected locations, while investigations into the recurring emissions have continued.
