Students of the University of Benin, Ekheuan Campus, staged a protest on Saturday morning over a prolonged power outage and lack of water supply, disrupting activities within the institution.
The protesting students locked the campus gate, preventing movement in and out of the school and leaving staff, traders, and visitors stranded.
A student who identified himself as Prosper expressed frustration over what he described as the failure of the university management to provide basic amenities despite fee payments.
“For three days now, there has been no light and no water, yet we have paid all required fees. Living in the hostels has become extremely difficult,” he said.
“Taking a bath on this campus now feels like searching for gold.”
Another student alleged that the situation had also created security risks, claiming that an unidentified man armed with a cutlass attempted to force his way into the female hostel overnight.
“Someone tried to enter the girls’ hostel last night with a cutlass. While escaping, he injured a student. The blackout is making the campus unsafe,” the student said.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the campus, Adesina Ayinde, addressed the protesters and assured them that steps were being taken to restore services.
“Arrangements have been concluded to provide water today, and efforts are ongoing to resolve the electricity problem,” Ayinde told the students.
However, the protesters insisted they would not reopen the gate until water supply was restored.
Sources within the university said the campus generator had broken down, while a backup generator acquired during the tenure of former Vice-Chancellor Friday Orunmwense had earlier been relocated to the main campus in Ugbowo.
