The Osun State Police Command on Friday refuted media reports that an explosion occurred on Thursday at the Osogbo campus of the Osun State University. While speaking to the press in Osogbo, the state Commissioner of Police, Fimihan Adeoye, said contrary to media reports, it was carbon dioxide in a fire extinguisher that was accidentally released. “There was no explosion on Osun University campus yesterday.
“ What happened was that about 1:30pm during a lecture, one of the students mistakenly and unknowingly removed the safety pin on a fire extinguisher and subsequently it was discharged. “The students in the classroom inhaled the carbon dioxide and as a result of that, some of them became unconscious and were immediately rushed to the hospital by the school’s authorities, ” he said.
Adeoye said an assessment of the area had been carried out following his visit to the scene of the incident with officers of the anti-bomb unit. He added that the fire extinguisher which caused the pandemonium had been retrieved. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) of the university, Prof. Odunayo Adeboye, collaborated the police commissioner, saying students who inhaled the carbon dioxide suffered respiratory impairment and became unconscious.
According to Adeboye, 27 of the students became unconscious and were rushed to the school’s health center before they were later moved to four different hospitals in Osogbo for proper treatment. He confirmed that the 27 students had already recovered and had been discharged, assuring parents that there was no cause for alarm.
