The people of Bille Kingdom in the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State are living in fear after eight months of gas leaks which has sparked a fire outbreak, prompting calls for a state of emergency and temporary relocation of residents from the coastal area.
Recall that since October 2025 there was gas emissions from a yet-to-be identified facility in Bille with the people of the area making repeated calls on the government to come to their aid.
The state governor, Siminalayi Fubara had through the secretary to the state government, Dr Dagog Wokoma. visited the site of the gas emissions in Bille and released N100 million emergency relief to the affected community.
It was gathered that some persons were injured in fire outbreak amidst efforts to contain it.
The Secretary, Bille Council of Traditional Rulers, Luckyman Igila, said the latest is the third fire incident linked to the persistent gas leak in the area.
Igila accused the Federal Government and related government agencies of neglecting the community despite repeated promises to address the problem.
He warned that the people may be forced to take actions that could affect oil and gas operations in the area if urgent steps are not taken arrest the situation.
Igila said, “We are the proud host of OML-18, OML-24 and OML-55. S9. If we stand up and stop the production of oil activities in this territory, Nigerian government will act swiftly within minutes but currently we are dying.
“We have been abandoned. The government is lying every day that they are coming do do something, while know that they are not coming. All they are waiting for is for a day when the entire Bille Kingdom will be wiped out of the face of the earth.”
Meanwhile, a group, the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre+Nigeria (YEAC) confirmed that there was gas leakage bubbling from the ground in and around Opu Dah Community ignited on an abandoned mono pump head.
The Executive Director of YEAC+Nigeria, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, described the incident as the materialisation of repeated warnings that “Bille is sitting on a keg of gunpowder.”
Dumnamene said, “Unfortunately, that warning has now materialised as the ‘keg of gunpowder’ has caught fire, putting lives, property, and the environment at immediate risk”.
YEAC-Nigeria urged the Federal Government to urgently declare a state of emergency in Bille kingdom to enable immediate intervention and suspension of bureaucratic bottlenecks delaying action on the crisis.
“The scale and duration of the gas leaks require urgent executive action to protect residents and prevent possible loss of life,” the statement said.
The organisation also called for the temporary relocation of residents from gas-polluted areas.
“The people of Bille should be temporarily relocated from the gas polluted areas immediately to prevent further inhaling of gas and poisonous hydrocarbon-related chemicals, as well as possible impending larger fire incidents,” YEAC-Nigeria said
The group further urged the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, and the Nigerian Navy to deploy marine fire service teams and tugboats to the area to contain possible future fire outbreaks.
The organisation also called on the Federal Government, Rivers State Government, New Cross Exploration and Production Limited, and other oil firms operating in the area to immediately secure abandoned facilities and halt the gas leaks.
