Lagos Govt Reassures Parents On Protection Of Public School Pupils

The Lagos State Chairman, House Committee on Education, Science and Technology, Mr Alawiye King, on Friday assured parents of the protection of children in the state’s public schools.

King gave the assurance in Lagos while reacting to Thursday’s incident involving about 13 pupils of Ogba Junior Secondary School, who became unconscious after inhaling poisonous gas during school hours.

He told newsmen that the state government had deployed relevant agencies to investigate the incident.

“The area has been sealed-off, relevant government agencies have been there; it has happened before and they suspected a photographic laboratory which was closed down.

“It is happening again and we have to investigate it and know the cause of the emission.

“The major responsibility of any responsible, sensible ad proactive government is to protect the lives and property of its citizenry.

“We are protecting lives and that is why we have many emergency agencies handling the incident,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there was pandemonium at the school after 13 pupils fell unconscious after inhaling a poisonous gas from an unidentified source.

The incident was said to have occurred around 12 noon.

NAN reports that a similar incident occurred on Nov.1, 2013 when 22 pupils of the same school fainted after inhaling a gaseous substance.

A photo laboratory behind the school was investigated by the state government after the incident. (NAN)