No less than ten students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, in Oyo State, reportedly collapsed after they inhaled a yet-to-be-identified gaseous substance when two students were quarrelling.
It was learnt that the students have been stabilised and admitted for treatment at the University College Hospital (UCH) and Ring Road State Hospital.
According to a source disclosed that the affected students were from the Department of Science Laboratory and Technology. They were said to have been seated in the lecture hall after they wrote a test.
Suddenly, the students started fighting and while others moved to intervene, one of the students sprayed the substance into the air. Many of the students who inhaled the substance started collapsing and some of them became unconscious.
The state government responded to the situation immediately following a distress call.
The state commissioner for health, Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, led a team of emergency responders to the institution, which immediately evacuated the affected students to medical facilities.
Oyo Govt speaks on Ibadan poly students
Ajetunmobi then visited the hospital personally to assess the students’ conditions. They were confirmed stable and reportedly responding to the medical attention appropriately.
The commissioner in his address urged the institution’s management to thoroughly investigate the situation and ensure that the students who sprayed the substance are identified and sanctioned.
She also stressed the need to sensitise the students against harmful behaviours and violent acts that could threaten public safety.
