Pandemonium broke out yesterday in Ikere-Ekiti in Ekiti State as youths protested against the members of staff of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) over a three-month-old blackout in the town. During the protest, the youths lit bonfires on major roads, especially the road that linked Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, with Akure, the Ondo State capital. While motorists and other road users had a hectic time plying the road, traders were forced to hurriedly shut down their shops to prevent looting. An eyewitness told reporters that the youths started the protest to express the minds of the people of Ikere-Ekiti over the prolonged outage. She said: Since January this year, there has been power outage in the town and people are suffering. The BEDC officials just threw the entire town into total darkness and nobody knows when the power outage will stop. And this is what provoked the youths which consequently led them into taking that action. It was gathered that some policemen from Ikere Division went to address the protesters to avoid violence. The state Police Public Relations Officer ( PPRO ) Victor Babayemi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), confirmed the incident, saying: We heard about the protest and we quickly deployed our men there to ensure it does not get out of hand. The youths are protesting continuous power outage in the town. We are managing the situation. We have not made any arrest, because we believe the youths have the constitutional right to protest as long as they are not violent in the cause of carrying out their right. But we are making sure that the situation doesnt get out of hand. So our men are in full control of the situation.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 02:49:21 +0000
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