In Omu-Aran, Kwara State, two masquerades led a large protest of youths on Monday against a steep hike in electricity tariffs and the sudden reclassification of the community’s power supply from Band C to Band A.
The protest, which began at Bareke Roundabout, saw demonstrators march through major streets, chanting and holding placards with messages like “Omu-Aran Says No to Band A” and “Bring Us Back to Band C.” Protesters said the new Band A status caused electricity bills to skyrocket, with some residents receiving bills between N41,000 and N47,000—far above the previous N10,000 to N15,000 range.
Despite the increased charges, many areas in the community reportedly still face poor electricity supply, with frequent outages and broken transformers. The protesters rejected police or security escorts, insisting the demonstration was peaceful.
The protest spread to major locations including Olomu Market, Latinwo Market, the palace of the Olomu of Omu-Aran, and the local office of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC). They also blocked key highways connecting the town to other states, stranding travelers for hours.
In a statement, the Omu-Aran Development Association listed several demands: a return to Band C, suspension of Band A tariffs, review of inflated bills, replacement of faulty transformers, a stop to residents funding repairs, and an independent audit of IBEDC’s service delivery.
Addressing the crowd, the Olomu of Omu-Aran, Oba Abdulraheem Adeoti, appealed for calm and assured the protesters that talks with IBEDC were ongoing to resolve the issue.