Geological fractures behind Ijebu-Ode school gas incidents, Ogun reveals

The Ogun State Government has attributed the recurring gas leak incidents affecting several schools in Ijebu-Ode to underground geological fractures, following extensive investigations into the mysterious emissions that have triggered health emergencies in the area.

Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, disclosed this on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, revealing that all the schools impacted by the incidents are located along the same fault line connected to fractures beneath the earth’s crust.

According to the commissioner, the state government initially explored multiple possibilities, including industrial pollution, gas pipeline leaks, sabotage, and other human activities, after the first incident was recorded about two months ago.

However, subsequent investigations gradually pointed to natural geological formations as the likely source of the methane emissions.

“The schools affected are all sitting on the same fracture from the earth’s crust,” Oresanya stated.

“We eventually found out that the series of schools are linked. They are all on the same fault line from the earth’s crust. Ijebu-Ode is having a mixture of sedimentary and basement rocks, and we have fractures on the ground. Those schools were lying on the same fracture.”

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He explained that monitoring equipment installed after the initial gas leak detected methane concentrations as high as 15,000 parts per million (ppm) during a subsequent occurrence, prompting authorities to intensify investigations into the source of the emissions.

The commissioner said experts considered several possibilities before concluding that the gas was likely escaping naturally through geological fractures beneath the affected communities.

“We now know this is coming from the earth’s crust. It is not an artificial thing,” he said.

Oresanya disclosed that drilling operations and soil sampling exercises are currently underway to determine whether the methane emissions are entirely natural or whether they may have been aggravated by human activities such as quarrying, mining, or other underground disturbances.

He further noted that Ijebu-Ode lies on a significant geological fault system that extends from the Atlantic region, making the area susceptible to underground movements and gas seepage.

“Ijebu-Ode sits on the southwest fault line that comes from the Atlantic. That’s why when we had tremors in Nigeria between 1984 and 1985, Ijebu-Ode and parts of Oyo felt them because they are sitting on that fault line,” he explained.

The commissioner also dismissed speculation that nearby gas infrastructure could be responsible for the incidents, noting that the closest gas pipeline is approximately five kilometres from the affected schools.

“If methane was travelling that distance at the concentrations we recorded, people much closer to the pipeline would have been affected first,” he added.

The latest gas-related emergency occurred on Wednesday at Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, where students and staff members were rushed to hospital after inhaling a pungent gas suspected to be methane. The incident marked the third occurrence within two months in the community.

A similar episode was recorded on April 1 when at least 30 students of the same school were hospitalised after a suspected gas leak caused breathing difficulties among students and teachers. At the time, investigators believed the fumes might have originated from nearby bushes surrounding the school.