Students at the University of Benin are protesting a power outage lasting more than three weeks.

Unable to endure the hardship any longer, they blocked the outbound lane of the Lagos-Benin Expressway on Wednesday morning.

Before the demonstrators forced reporters to leave, some students, their faces reflecting the toll of the situation, told Channels TV off-camera that the power outage had made their daily lives unbearable.

As a result, all vehicles must now use the expressway’s inbound lane. The university’s main gate is completely closed while the protest is ongoing.

Meanwhile, video clips sighted by Pulse show scores of military personnel at the scene of the protest to maintain normalcy.

The military was seen approaching with their van, fully kitted in their war regalia and ammunition, as the students scampered for safety.

Just in the @HQNigerianArmy is trying to put an end to the protest, which led to the killing of some students in the @UniversityofBen @uniben @Unibengistng @UnibenFM @uniben_update @Everyone pic.twitter.com/LYPH2XF4jc

— Gist legit (@GodwinS14611321) July 3, 2024

The Borno state police command has confirmed the death of Ruth Wazis, a professor and former head of the business management department at the University of Maiduguri.

Yusuf Lawal, the commissioner of police in Borno, said Wazis died after a car accident at her home on Sunday.

Lawal said the late professor died as a result of injuries she sustained when her car rolled back and ran over her.

“The sad tragic garage incident happened on 30th June 2024 in the late evening at Judari Polo Area, Maiduguri, where late Professor Mrs. Ruth Wazis (former Head of the Department of Business Management, University of Maiduguri) was highlighted from her vehicle and attempted to open her residential gate to park her car in her garage,” a statement by police reads.

“But unfortunately, a high slope and sudden mechanical malfunction caused the vehicle to accelerate unexpectedly, knocking her to the gate and on the ground, stepping her chest, and she, unfortunately, succumbed with severe injuries before being taken to the hospital at UMTH, where she was confirmed dead by a doctor.”

She was married to Haruna Wazis, a professor, and they had three children and three grandchildren.

Students at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (UNILAG) are embroiled in a string of sexual assault cases.

Anonymous accounts from purported students detailed a few cases on the micro-blogging site X and alleged inaction by the university.

The purported victims used the hashtag “#EndSACultureInCMUL” on Monday and Tuesday, generating media discourse on the matter.

An activist at the varsity tells TheCable that the cases include one between a 200-level Pharmacy male and a 200-level Medicine female in March 2024 and another in late June between ⁠a 300-level male Pharmacy student and their female colleague in 200-level Radiography.

Another cited case is between a 600-level male student of Medicine said to be a serial offender and several females from different levels.

The source tells TheCable that the first case was taken to the university’s student affairs division in March but got a “concrete” response.

It was said that UNILAG’s student body only asked the alleged serial offender at the College of Medicine to pay a meagre ₦5,000 fine.

“The second one happened recently; just last week, and that was what triggered the [public outrage] again,” the source said in a text.

“Of course, it was bound to happen since nothing was done concerning the previous cases. This has also been escalated to the faculty and university management.”

Details about each case are still sketchy as most of the victims refuse to directly engage with the press for fear of university sanctions.

In a reactory statement, the UNILAG management asked the said victims to make official reports at the institution’s student affairs unit.

“The management has seen reports of sexual misconduct among students making the rounds on social media,” the statement partly reads.

“We empathise with victims of these reports and invite them to make official reports to the office of the dean, Student Affairs Division at the University of Lagos’ Akoka campus.

“The management wishes to inform our students, their parents/guardians, and other stakeholders, of the university’s continued firm stance against injustice. Indeed, the University of Lagos has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct and related vices.”

The university management assured that an investigation would be conducted on these sexual misconduct cases in pursuit of justice.

In 2019, some staff members at UNILAG were indicted in a sex-for-grade scandal that prompted internal probes and suspensions.