The University of Benin has indefinitely shut down all academic activities following student protests.
The decision was announced on Thursday by the university’s Public Relations Officer, Dr. Benedicta Ehanire.
According to Ehanire, the shutdown was necessary because students refused to back down on their demands. On Wednesday, students blocked the busy Benin-Ore Highway to protest weeks of power outages on campus. With two weeks left until their first semester exams, the students said the lack of electricity severely affected their preparation.
The students also demanded a reduction in transport fares by the UNIBEN shuttle service, which had been increased from July 1.
The power outage began when the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) and the university could not agree on electricity billing. The university’s monthly bill had jumped from about N80 million to between N200 and N280 million. As a result, the university started using power generators and rationing electricity across its two campuses and hostels.
Despite heavy rainfall, the protesting students were determined to continue their demonstration until their demands were met.
In a notice of closure, Ehanire described the students’ demand for 24-hour electricity as unrealistic. “Following the insistence of students of the University of Benin to shift grounds on their demands for twenty-four hours supply of electricity and more, considered unrealistic by the university’s Senate, the university has shut down academic activities indefinitely,” Ehanire said.
She added, “Students are to vacate the hostels immediately, while all the relevant units of the university are to take note and comply.”
However, the shutdown does not affect non-teaching staff and those on essential duties.
