The Ogun State Government has attributed the recurring gas emissions in Ijebu-Ode and neighbouring communities to natural underground geological activities, dismissing claims linking the phenomenon to traditional myths or spiritual causes.

The Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Ola Oresanya, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ town hall meeting held at the Bisi Rodipe Hall, Government Reservation Area (GRA), Ijebu-Ode, to address public concerns over the recurring gas emissions.

Oresanya said scientific investigations had established that the gases being released in parts of Ijebu-Ode and its environs consist mainly of methane and hydrogen sulphide escaping through underground fractures along an existing geological fault line.

According to him, the affected communities are located along the Ifewara-Zungeru Trans-Atlantic Fault Line, which stretches from Mojoda through Ijebu-Ode into Osun State and extends to Zungeru in Niger State.

“There is what we call the Ifewara-Zungeru Trans-Atlantic Fault Line that cuts across Mojoda, Ijebu-Ode, Osun State and extends to Zungeru in Niger State. That fault line has existed for centuries, and our investigations have shown that it connects with the areas where the gas emissions occurred. Coincidentally, all the affected schools are located within that corridor,” he said.

The commissioner explained that historical records indicate the affected locations were originally forested and sparsely populated, noting that many of the affected schools were established by missionary organisations on lands donated by community leaders because the areas were largely uninhabited at the time.

He disclosed that further scientific analyses are underway to determine whether the gases are thermogenic or methanogenic in origin, while experts are also investigating the possibility that the area sits on significant natural gas deposits.

“We are also trying to determine whether Ijebu-Ode is sitting on a substantial natural gas reserve that may have become pressurised beneath the town,” Oresanya added.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, urged residents to remain calm and comply with government safety advisories whenever gas emissions occur.

She advised residents to cover their noses with wet handkerchiefs instead of wearing face masks during gas emissions, explaining that wet cloths offer better protection under the circumstances. She also urged residents to contact the state’s emergency health line, 08112000033, whenever assistance is required.

On the reopening of schools affected by the incident, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbadu, said the schools would resume only after consultations with principals and zonal education officers, as well as the completion of safety assessments.

He appealed to parents to allow the government sufficient time to ensure the affected schools are safe before resumption.

The Head of the Department of Earth Sciences at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Prof. Philip Ikhane, who leads the state’s technical investigation team, assured residents that experts were working to determine the precise cause of the emissions.

He urged residents in affected communities to remain calm and avoid activities capable of aggravating existing fault lines, including indiscriminate borehole drilling and quarry blasting.

Some stakeholders at the meeting, including Messrs. Adegbenro Adetayo, Olawale Kukoyi and Monday Ajayi, as well as Mrs. Morayo Adebanjo, commended the state government for its prompt response to the incidents.

They also urged residents and school authorities to promptly alert the state’s emergency health services whenever gas emissions are detected.

The state government recalled that gas odour incidents have occurred on three separate occasions in Ijebu-Ode in recent weeks, leading to the hospitalisation of several students, with preliminary investigations attributing the incidents to natural underground geological activities.