About 35 pupils of Fakunle Comprehensive School, Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, were hospitalised after inhaling teargas fired by riot policemen.
The pupils who became unconscious after inhaling the teargas were rushed to two different hospitals for urgent medical attention.
Moments the news of the incident went to town, parents and guardians stormed the school to find out the state of their children and wards.
Parents of the affected children immediately rushed them to hospitals for treatment, while the pupils who were not affect were immediately taken away by their parents from the school premises.
Trouble was said to have started when riot policemen attached to PMF 39 Base, Osogbo, were undergoing their morning drill within the premises of the base, and fired several teargas during the process.
Pupils of the school located directly opposite the base inhaled the teargas and lost consciousness.
An anonymous source in the school said lessons were going in the classes when tge policemen teargas fired bythe teargas and immediately spread into the school’s premises around 9am.
Some of the pupils who lost consciousness were taken to a private hospital near the school for treatment, while others were taken to the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, by operatives of the Osun Ambulance Scheme that responded to a distress call from the school.
After the incident, only teachers were met at the school located on the Osogbo-Ikirun Road, as the remaining pupils were asked to go home.
None of the teachers agreed to speak on the incident, but a parent who identified himself simply as Gideon said he was directed to check the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo for his daughter affected by the teargas.
“When I got here, I was told to check UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital for my daughter. The pupils have been sent home after about 20 of them lost consciousness after inhaling teargas fired by the men of the MOPOL Base here,” Gideon said.
The state police spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, said the riot policemen were engaging in their usual morning drills and apologised to those who were affected.
“I just spoke to the people at the MOPOL Base. They were just engaging in their morning drills which involved the use of teargas. We apologise for the inconvenience. There will be necessary adjustments in operation since the base is now close to where other people also operate their businesses,” she said.
