Bille gas eruption: Group demands emergency declaration, evacuation

From Tony John, Port Harcourt

The People’s Assembly and Bille Working Group have called on President Bola Tinubu to declare Bille Kingdom in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State a national environmental, safety and public health emergency, following a year-long gas eruption that has killed 11 people.

In a petition dated October 26, 2026, and addressed to the President, President of the Senate, ministers of Health and Environment, and Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), through the Director-General of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the coalition of over 20 groups warned that Bille was a genocide in waiting, if federal intervention was delayed.

The petition, read by Emen Okon, Co-Convener of the Assembly, said gas had been bubbling from the ground and water in Bille since about October 2025, polluting the air.

It reportedly rises through creeks, hand-dug wells, boreholes, homes, schools and open grounds, and has caused several fires and explosions.

According to the coalition, residents can no longer safely cook, drink water or fish in their creeks, worsening poverty and living costs in the oil-producing kingdom, located within Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 18 and 24.

The group recalled that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) became aware of the leak in February 2026 but later told the National Assembly that its source remained unknown and that the incident was unprecedented in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.

It said Social Action visited Bille on March 25, 2026, and observed gas bubbling from boreholes, wells, rivers and creeks, while clear water turned black within seconds.

On April 28, the organisation and Bille leaders held a joint press conference demanding urgent intervention, remediation, compensation and a health audit.

The petition also cited a fire on May 13 around Opu Dah Compound and a September 3 explosion at Opu Ibiila, which killed Joy Amos after gas reportedly accumulated beneath her floor.

The coalition said independent monitoring confirmed unsafe levels of methane, hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide, with residents reporting vomiting, breathing difficulties and other illnesses. It cited the 1986 Lake Nyos tragedy in Cameroon, which killed about 1,700 people, as a warning.

It lamented that despite joint investigations by NOSDRA and NUPRC, no operator had been identified as responsible, while NOSDRA lacked funds for further investigation and remediation.

The group demanded immediate temporary relocation of residents, emergency funding for NOSDRA, activation of the regional Spill Command Centre, access to the Upstream Remediation Fund, fingerprinting technology to trace the gas and an audit of oil facilities in OMLs 18 and 24.

It also called for suspension of oil and gas operations in the affected areas until the source was identified and declared safe, free medical screening and treatment, publication of test results, compensation, joint liability for current and former operators, and passage of the NOSDRA Amendment Bill 2025.

The coalition announced a ‘No Clean-Up, No Vote’ campaign across the Niger Delta, warning political parties and candidates that support would depend on clear, fundable and time-bound environmental remediation plans.

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