By: Sonaike Peter 

Power surge occurs to an appliance when it receives more electricity than intended for at least, three nanoseconds.

On Friday, 17th of January, 2025, an abrupt power surge damaged gadgets of some residents of the Great Independence Hall of Residence, University of Ibadan.

The unexpected occurrence in the C-Block Constituency of the hall, around 12PM, led to the damage of various gadgets belonging to some students.

The effect of the surge affected devices like power banks, wall sockets, extension sockets, laptop chargers, and phone chargers.

The occurrence left affected residents with no other choice than to rethink and re-purchase new accessories, now sold at inflated prices.

Emmanuel Adesi, a resident, recounted the incident, saying his charger and wall socket were burned by the surge. He has had to charge his phone henceforth in nearby rooms.

“It affected me a lot. I wasn’t able to use my socket. I had to go to my friends’ rooms, maybe in other rooms or downstairs to go and charge. Our sockets were not working. My charger was also affected,” Emmanuel lamented.

Another character, Bolaji as he is called, explained that the surge got his Samsung charger, worth N12000 spoilt. The consequence was the need to buy a new charger, now sold at the rate of N15000.

“We noticed that the light was fluctuating, like it was getting brighter and lower. So, my extension was plugged to the socket. My phone was not plugged in thankfully,” Bolaji said.

“But my charger was plugged to the extension. I heard a loud sound, the chargers on my extension were scattered. I could not remove them.We noticed that it was the current from the light that damaged it. It happened to others too,” he added.

As at the time of this report, both the socket and the bulb in his room were still not functioning, IndyPress confirmed.

“It was socket before, and now, after I fixed it, we’re waiting for them to bring light. But now that there is light, the socket is not even working including the bulb,” the occupant told IndyPress.

Another victim, Sola (real name withheld), a resident of C75, explained that the surge damaged his laptop charger, power bank and phone charger. When asked to provide his damaged appliances, Sola said he had discarded them, except his laptop charger. He stated that it took him a week to buy another charger.

“It was unexpected. It just happened and I lost a few of my appliances; my phone charger, my power bank and laptop charger. My extension too was damaged. It took me a week to buy another charger,” Sola explained.

Another resident, Aderinto Tawhid, lost his extension box to the surge. When the surge occurred, Tawhid’s attention was brought to the development. On returning to his room, he found out that his extension box had been affected.

“I actually had an issue with my extension. I discovered that it blew out. Aside that, luckily enough for me, it kind of protected my other devices from being damaged because it was just the only socket that got damaged,” Tahwid said.

As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the surge is still unknown. Some affected occupants are still struggling with the development as they have to go to other rooms to power up their gadgets.

Power trips are no new happenings at the University of Ibadan. It leaves students with its consequences.

“There’s an electrical fault along private hostels that’s being looked into at the moment. Hence the “flashing” lights. We hope it’s resolved soonest and all halls have power,” a broadcast by the UI’SU PRO reads, as at the time of this report.