Give us light, the heat is killing us — Lagos residents protest blackout as state warns of extreme heat

• Residents of Lewis, Okesuna, and others on Lagos Island protested electricity outages on Tuesday, November 3.

• The protest comes days after the Lagos State Government warned residents to prepare for possible extreme heat as the El Niño climate pattern strengthens.

• The demonstration adds to growing complaints about electricity supply in Lagos, following recent power generation shortfalls and similar protests in other parts of the state.

Residents of several streets on Lagos Island have taken to the streets to protest a lack of electricity supply, complaining of excessive heat.

In videos circulating online, the protesters, from Lewis, Okesuna, Beecroft, Simpson and Sandgrouse streets, are heard chanting in Yoruba, "E fun wa ina o, orun pa wa," which loosely translates as "Give us light, the heat is killing us."

The protest was held on the 3rd of November, and it was not immediately clear how many people took part. 

The area is served by Excel Electricity, which had not publicly responded at the time of filing.

The protest comes days after the Lagos State Government warned residents to prepare for possible extreme heat as the El Niño climate pattern strengthens and the dry season approaches. 

In a statement on Sunday, November 1, 2026, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, urged residents to stay hydrated, avoid prolonged exposure to direct sunlight and wear light clothing.

He also called for access to clean drinking water, shaded areas and proper ventilation, saying Lagos is especially vulnerable because of its dense population and built-up environment.

Electricity supply has been under strain in parts of Lagos in recent weeks. On October 19, Nigeria's power generation fell from 3,840 megawatts at 7 a.m. to 476.70 megawatts by 1 p.m., according to data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) portal, with plants such as Egbin, Jebba, Shiroro and Kainji recording zero output. 

NISO denied that it was a national grid collapse. Ikeja Electric, which serves other parts of Lagos, said the same day that reduced supply hours were due to a shortfall in power allocated to it from the national grid.

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In August, Eko Disco said its power allocation had dropped from 486 megawatts to 347 megawatts because of national grid constraints and that it had temporarily adjusted supply to some feeders. The Transmission Company of Nigeria disputed its explanation, according to reports.

Similar protests have taken place in other parts of Lagos this year. In March 2026, residents of Fadeyi marched to Ikeja Electric's office over months of outages.

Neither the Lagos State Government nor the electricity company had commented on the Lagos Island protest at the time of filing.