On Monday, undergraduate students at the Ekewan campus of the University of Benin in Benin City, Nigeria, staged a protest against the lack of electricity supply to their hostels since last year. The protest also included the locking-out of academic and non-academic staff of the University, as well as staff and students of a private co-education secondary, primary and nursery school owned by the University authorities.
The protest began as early as 6am when the students, in large numbers, gathered at the University’s main gate and padlocked it to prevent people, including off-campus undergraduate students from going in and out of the campus. They demanded that the gate would not be opened until electricity was restored. According to them, the lack of electricity supply has also resulted in a lack of water in the campus as there was no light to power the water borehole.
As at 7.45am, a senior official of the Ekewan Campus of the University was seen in the open field holding a consultation with the students on the way forward. However, details of the consultation were still unknown as at press time.
The lack of electricity supply also affected the Consultancy School, a private co-education secondary, primary and nursery school owned by the University authorities, as its staff and students were also locked out by the protesting undergraduate students. As at 8am, students of the secondary, primary and nursery arm were already returning home on the directive of the school’s Director, Prof. Ofuam James Ilaboya.
Later in the day, electricity was restored to the campus before the padlock was opened to allow people access into the campus. The students later suspended the protest, with a promise to resume on Tuesday if the situation does not improve.
All efforts to speak with relevant authorities were unsuccessful as no official of the University was willing to speak to newsmen.
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