Parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), particularly Bwari Area Council, have been plunged into prolonged darkness following a power outage that has lasted for several days.
Communities affected include Ushafa, Jigo, Pambara, Bwari town, Dutse, parts of Kubwa, Usuma Dam, and sections of Gwarinpa.
Residents say the outage, which has persisted for more than one week, has heightened fear and uncertainty among residents. A resident in Ushafa lamented that the blackout has made daily life unsafe.
“This darkness is making us more vulnerable. Once it’s dawn, everyone goes indoors because criminals take advantage of the situation,” the resident who pleaded not to be mentioned said.
Also, a Twitter user Mark Itsibor with the handle @itsibor lamented the prolonged outage in Bwari-Abuja.
He wrote, “ Days without power is Ushafa, Bwari, Dutse, and villages, yet AEDC keeps mute. Businesses are dying, homes are in darkness, residents are suffering. Abuja deserves better than this chronic incompetence and silence. Fix your network or be accountable @aedcelectricity.”
Many residents fear the prolonged power cut could worsen the already fragile security situation in Bwari and Ushafa, where cases oof kidnapping and violent attacks by suspected armed bandits have been frequently reported with little action from the security forces.
“We are already battling insecurity here. Now there is no light, no visibility, nothing. It is like the government has abandoned us,” another resident lamented.
Only a few days ago, a young man was reportedly abducted behind a primary school in Ushafa. This has further increased tension in the community. Several other kidnapping incidents have also been recorded in different parts of Bwari, a boundary town between Abuja and Kaduna State.
A trader, Monica James, in Bwari town expressed concern over the impact of the outage on businesses.
“My business can’t survive without electricity. Running a generator every day is almost impossible because fuel is too expensive. Many of us are losing our livelihoods,” she said.
Efforts to obtain official comments from the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) were unsuccessful, as officials declined to speak on record. However, a source within the company attributed the outage to a faulty cable, without giving further details or a timeline for restoration.
A community leader who does not want his name in print said, “We just know it’s a faulty cable somewhere, but for over a week now nothing has changed. Nobody is giving us clear information.”
Experts have long described Nigeria’s power sector as deeply problematic, with successive governments introducing reforms that have failed to produce sustainable results. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had promised to fix the power crisis within two years, but residents say the situation has worsened.
“We hear promises every new government, but the reality on ground keeps getting worse. Power supply is not improving; it is currently at an alarming stage ,” a civil servant in Kubwa, Obaje said.
As a result, many households have turned to solar energy, while others rely on generators to survive. However, the rising cost of petroleum products has made generator use unaffordable to many families.
“Not everyone can afford solar, and fuel is too expensive. We are stuck in darkness,” John, a resident of SCC road in Ushafa added.
Despite Nigeria’s position as a major oil and gas producer, citizens continue to pay exorbitant energy costs, deepening economic hardship.
Residents who spoke to our correspondent insisted that no meaningful reform has taken place in the power sector under the current administration, warning that continued outages could further undermine security and livelihoods in the FCT.
