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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Civil Society Organisations, Ijaw Youth Council, Eastern Zone, and rights group have called on 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 at the weekend, during an emergency Community/Civil Parliament on the Bille Hydrocarbon Eruption, titled: “From Outrage to Action: A People’s Parliament for Environmental Accountability.”
Members of 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.
The gas emissions from a yet-to-be identified facility were first reported in Bille in October 2025. In May 2025, the community recorded a severe fire outbreak at one of the gas bubbling spots, 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.
He stated that all groundwater in Bille has been “totally and completely polluted,” destroying fish, aquatic life, and the traditional livelihoods of residents.
Osuoka faulted President Bola 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.
Osuoka also criticized the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), chaired by Senator Magnus Abe.
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.
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While commending Governor Siminalayi Fubara for donating N100 million through his representative for a medical outreach, Osuoka said the intervention was inadequate.
Osuoka warned that the people may be forced to take actions that could affect oil and gas operations if urgent steps are not taken.
The 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.
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.
Also speaking, Bille IYC Chapter Chairman, Depriye Igani, said residents are living in fear and can no longer access clean water or fishing grounds.
On her part, Niger Delta activist, Annkio Briggs, described the scene as “terrible” and urged the President and all those responsible to tackle the leakages not to politicize the crisis.
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.
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.
