Human and vehicular movement was brought to a standstill for several hours on Monday after residents of Idokpa Community in the Aduwawa, Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo State blocked the major highway linking Benin City to other parts of Edo State in protest over a prolonged electricity outage.
The demonstrators barricaded the bypass, causing heavy traffic congestion and leaving motorists stranded. Travellers heading to northern parts of the country were particularly affected, as the protesters insisted they would not vacate the road until government officials and members of the media arrived to address their concerns.
Speaking with New Telegraph, a resident identified as Doris said the community had endured weeks without electricity, a situation she noted had severely disrupted their livelihoods and businesses. According to her, the protest was aimed at drawing urgent attention to their suffering.
She accused the Benin Electricity Distribution Company of diverting electricity meant for Idokpa Community to another area, describing the situation as especially painful because a neighbouring community continued to enjoy a steady power supply.
She called on the electricity distribution company to immediately restore power, noting that residents could no longer cope with the hardship.
She said, “We are doing this protest because of the power outage that has crippled our businesses. We are sure that blocking the road will bring attention to our plight.
“Power that is supposed to be given to our community has been diverted to other places, and this is not acceptable to us. We call on the BEDC to reverse this.”
Another resident, Gideon, said the protesters were determined to keep the road blocked until they received assurances from top government officials and their situation was adequately reported by the media.
He stated that it was unacceptable for them to continue living without electricity while surrounding communities enjoyed an uninterrupted power supply.
Meanwhile, a traveller, Hassan, who said he was on his way to Kaduna, lamented being stranded on the road for the entire day due to the protest. He described the blockade as ill-timed and appealed to the residents to consider the plight of travellers heading to distant destinations.
He urged the protesters to reopen the highway to allow commuters to proceed with their journeys.
Responding to the development, a Benin Electricity Distribution Company official via telephone said that the power outage was not intentional. The official explained that the situation was caused by a shortage of gas used in electricity generation.
“The power outage being experienced in some parts of Edo is not deliberate; it has to do with the shortage of gas that is used to generate power.”
