Students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Ekehuan Campus, staged a protest on Saturday over a three-day power outage and lack of water supply, blocking the main entrance to the campus.
The protest disrupted activities, leaving university staff, business operators, and visitors stranded, with several scheduled engagements put on hold.
The students expressed frustration over what they described as the failure of the institution to provide basic amenities despite payment of tuition and other institutional fees. They said the prolonged absence of electricity and water had left hostel facilities in unsanitary conditions.
Some protesters also raised security concerns, alleging that the blackout had increased vulnerability within the campus. They claimed that on Friday night, an unidentified individual armed with a cutlass allegedly attempted to force entry into a female hostel, injuring a student before fleeing the scene.
Responding to the protest, Adesina Ayinde, Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of the Ekehuan Campus, assured students that arrangements had been finalized to restore water supply, while efforts were underway to fix the electricity issue.
However, the students maintained that the campus gate would remain closed until water supply was fully restored.
Sources within the university indicated that the main generator had developed a fault, while a backup generator previously acquired during the tenure of former Vice-Chancellor Friday Orunmwense had earlier been relocated to the institution’s main campus in Ugbowo.
