Commercial activities were halted at the University of Lagos, UNILAG, yesterday, as students protested what they described as ‘exorbitant rates by the vendors in the campus.’

<“Some students came yesterday and asked us to lock our shops complaining that our prices are too exorbitant. But they should have resorted to dialogue first before asking us to lock up,” an official of UNILAG vendors association said.

The Assistant General Secretary of the law society which was at the forefront of the protest, Mr. Dare Adeojo said: “This is a very welcome development, and we are well within our rights.

“We have declared a 24-hour boycott and lock down of the shops within the campus. How can we buy noodles for N80 when it’s being sold at N60 outside? And why should pure water be N10?”

Another vendor who explained some of the reasons for the hike in price of goods on the campus said, “When we came here in 1996, it cost about N16,000 per annum to rent a shop. About five years ago, the rates moved up.

“Now it costs between N80,000 and N100,000 to rent a shop. The electricity bills are also very high.”

Deputy Dean of the university, Dr. A. K. Adebayo, said: “The school management is meeting with some of the student leaders as we speak, and very soon, the matter will be resolved.”

“We just instructed that the shops should be closed down to avoid any unwanted incidents in the best interests of everyone involved.”

The shops remained locked until evening when some vendors opened partly, mostly back doors to try and make sales for the day.