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… As Community Life Collapses
By Emma Sunday
Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Social Action, alongside other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and the Ijaw Youth Council, Eastern Zone, have urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Bille Kingdom, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, following months of uncontained gas eruptions threatening thousands of residents.
The groups, under the aegis of the People’s Assembly, made the call on Saturday during an emergency Community/Civil Parliament on the Bille Hydrocarbon Eruption, titled: “From Outrage to Action: A People’s Parliament for Environmental Accountability.”
The People’s Assembly, made up of members from the Social Action, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Chikoko Movement, Civil Rights Action, MiiDeekor, Health of Mother Earth, HOMEF, the IYC Eastern Zone, and others toured several spots in Bille where gas was seen bubbling from the ground, water, and residential wells.
Residents and activists displayed placards with inscriptions such as “Bille is on Fire,” “The gas bubbles are not decorations, they are poison,” “No fishing, No farming, no livelihood,” and “FG, NOSDRA, get the oil companies to stop the gas pollution,” among others.
Recall that gas emissions from a yet-to-be identified facility were first reported in Bille in October 2025. In May 2026, the community recorded a severe fire outbreak at one of the gas bubbling spots, third of its kind, triggering renewed calls for urgent federal intervention to avert an impending disaster.
Speaking at the parliament, Convener of the People’s Assembly and Executive Director of Social Action, Isaac Osuoka, accused the Federal Government and its regulatory agencies of abandoning the community despite the severity of the situation.
“Today, we see how delay creates emergency. All over this town, even as you approach from the water, you begin to see gas bubbling everywhere. We see gas eruption everywhere. We see hydrocarbon eruption everywhere,” Osuoka said.
He stated that all groundwater in Bille has been “totally and completely polluted,” destroying fish, aquatic life, and the traditional livelihoods of residents.
“We are here today because of the failure of the Nigerian state. This hydrocarbon eruption started in 2025. For over six months ago, the people of Bille have been going through this, and the Nigerian state has failed to respond,” he said.
Osuoka faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who also serves as Minister of Petroleum, for failing to protect the Niger Delta.
“The President has failed. The Federal government has failed. President Tinubu appointed himself Petroleum Minister with the responsibility to protect the interests of Nigeria and Nigerians, including the lands. But Bille Kingdom is not protected.”
He specifically named the Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, and its Director-General, Emeka Woke, for inaction. “NOSDRA came here to do tests. They did air tests, water tests, soil tests, and they have lied that the air quality in Bille is safe.”
Osuoka also criticized the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, chaired by Senator Magnus Abe saying, “Up till now, NUPRC has not done anything. They have done nothing to respond to the emergency in Bille. There is a health crisis in Bille. People are at risk of death. This community can burn down any day, but NUPRC has not responded.”
He added that the Federal Ministry of Health, Ministry of Water Resources, and emergency agencies “have done nothing in Bille,” describing the situation as an outrage.
While commending Governor Siminalayi Fubara for donating 100 million naira through his representative for a medical outreach, Osuoka said the intervention was inadequate.
“I commend Governor Fubara for his intervention, but he has not demonstrated adequate responsibility over the matters of Bille and the Niger Delta. This community, the people of Bille are citizens of Rivers State, they are citizens of Nigeria, they are sick and there is an emergency situation here that deserves more than just that response.”
Osuoka warned that the people may be forced to take actions that could affect oil and gas operations if urgent steps are not taken. “For over six months, there has been zero response from all the Federal Government agencies and ministries responsible for managing and fixing related situations, and it has come to a point when the people themselves will act.
“There is overwhelming view that this outrage in Bille cannot be allowed to continue because it is about the lives of people. Whatever measures the people will have to take to protect lives they will do it,” he said.
“The government must acknowledge that there is an emergency situation in Bille. When you hear the call for state of emergency in Bille, it means the government has to acknowledge that there is an emergency requiring urgent response. We have not seen that from President Bola Tinubu who is also the Minister of Petroleum,” he said.
IYC Chairman, Eastern Zone, Datolu Sukubo, said the Federal Government has failed to intervene on the Bille gas leaks since October last year and accused NNPCL and oil companies of avoiding responsibility.
“We clearly understand that the oil companies are trying to absolve themselves because they feel there is no equipment failure, or no direct gas or crude oil leakage, that is why they are reluctant,” Sukubo said.
He threatened direct action if the government fails to act. “If the people right now say they want to shut down OML 24, and by extension OML 18 operations, the NNPC will immediately react because they know they are going to lose a lot of revenue in just one day. But they have not reacted to this situation since October last year.
“If the government doesn’t declare a state of emergency on this Bille situation, they should prepare to bring all their armies to come and shoot us at the platforms,” he warned.
Also speaking, Bille IYC Chapter Chairman, Depriye Igani, said residents are living in fear and can no longer access clean water or fishing grounds.
“I don’t know how to describe it but our people are suffering. We don’t have water to drink, we now depend on sachet water. We can barely sleep in our houses. Everything in the community is affected, including our major source of livelihood, fishing, everything. People run away from the gas,” Igani said.
He added: “We have been calling on the relevant authorities to swing into action, but if the neglect continues, after months of several reports, we will be forced to take action that will drag the Federal Government down to Bille. We will shut down all operations of the IOCs within our area to ensure that they come to stop this danger.”
On her part, Niger Delta activist, Ankio Briggs, described the scene as “terrible” and urged the President and all those responsible to tackle the leakages not to politicize the crisis.
“We’ve gone round Bille community and we’ve seen things for ourselves. I cannot tell you how terrible it is because I’m not a scientist, I’m just a human being, but you don’t need to be told that something terrible is happening here in Bille. It is the first time I’m seeing gas following an outlet. Because gas is air, so anywhere there is air, the gas is following it. Anywhere there is water, including the drinking well, the gas is bubbling,” Briggs said.
She noted that residents lack safe drinking water and called on Degema’s representatives at the State and National Assemblies to “do their job and speak out for their people.”
The King of Bille Kingdom, His Majesty Igbikingeri Herbert, who spoke through Alabo Napoleon Hezekiah, Secretary, Land Health and Environment Committee, Bille Council of Chiefs, thanked the CSOs and IYC for their concerns and demanded immediate federal action.
“The environment is highly polluted, the air quality is bad, the water quality is bad, all parameters are above permissible level. I’m saying the President and Federal Government should act now and not sleep on the situation in Bille Kingdom.”
He faulted the NNPCL’s deployment of a single fire truck as inadequate. “The fire truck is good, but because of the compactness of the roads in here in Bille, the fire truck cannot find its way into the pathways in the communities. We need fire extinguishers and other fire appliances in the various communities for emergencies.”
On long-term solutions, he rejected the call for evacuation of the people and urged the government to “build gas plants here in Bille and commingle the gas into a gas plant to generate energy. The people will also be gainfully engaged and our youths will have jobs,” he said.
Women Leader of the community, Nene Akinda, said women are bearing the brunt of the crisis.
“We are suffering a lot from this situation. Women are the most hit as we can no longer go about our business, fishing. We are also suffering health challenges,” she said.
“Our children and us now only depend on sachet water and bottled water for drinking, and we find it difficult to buy because there is no money. We appeal to the government to come to our aid.”
Our Correspondent reports that thousands Bille residents benefitted from a free medical outreach carried out during the visit in Bille.
