The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has called for the declaration of a state of emergency in Bille, a riverine community in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, over an escalating gas-emission crisis that it says is threatening lives, water sources and livelihoods.
CAPPA Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja while presenting the organisation’s documentary and report, Bille Is Highly Flammable, which documents reports of gas bubbling from wells, compounds, creeks, mangrove swamps and school grounds in the community since October 2025.
Oluwafemi said CAPPA’s field visit to Bille on July 6, 2026, revealed what he described as a serious environmental and public-health emergency, with residents reporting respiratory problems, vomiting, persistent itching and other health complaints.
He warned that the situation had created widespread fear among residents, who now have to consider the risk of ignition during routine activities such as cooking.
According to CAPPA, residents have also reported polluted air, contaminated groundwater, fires, damaged ecosystems and disruptions to children’s education.
The organisation said emergency assistance provided to the community was inadequate and could not substitute for measures aimed at identifying the source of the emissions, restoring safe water supplies and addressing environmental damage.
“Temporary interventions do not answer the fundamental questions of what is causing these emissions, where they are coming from and how they can be permanently stopped,” Oluwafemi said.
He said officials from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources had inspected affected areas and collected soil, water and gas samples.
CAPPA said regulatory findings available to it had indicated elevated concentrations of methane, hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide, alongside groundwater contamination, deteriorating air quality and associated health risks.
Giving an account of the situation, Timothy Agunbiade, Vice President of the Bille Kingdom Youth Federation, said the crisis had affected residents across the community.
“As it is, we are all waiting to die because of the respiratory diseases and other ailments we suffer as a result of the leakages,” Agunbiade said.
He claimed that the number of gas-leaking points had increased from two when the problem was first discovered in 2025 to about 7,000, putting what he described as more than 70,000 residents at risk.
The claims could not independently be verified from the information provided.
CAPPA urged the Federal Government to develop a binding emergency action plan setting out clear responsibilities, deadlines, funding arrangements and reporting obligations for relevant government agencies and operators.
The organisation also called on the government to release publicly the results of tests conducted in Bille and provide residents with clear information about identified risks and necessary safety measures.
CAPPA further urged the NUPRC to conduct a comprehensive audit of oil and gas infrastructure in the community, including active, ageing, idle and abandoned facilities, and ensure that unsafe facilities are repaired, isolated or decommissioned.
Agunbiade also raised concerns about the emergency response capacity in the community, citing a fire truck donated by NNPC Limited that he said remained unused because no trained operator or emergency crew had been assigned to it.
He added that even if the vehicle became operational, its effectiveness could be limited because some parts of Bille are accessible only through narrow pedestrian routes.
The youth leader called for a coordinated emergency-response system, an evacuation plan and training for local responders.
The organisation also demanded continuous access to safe water, free medical screening and treatment, health surveillance and safe temporary learning facilities for affected schools.
According to the documentary presented by CAPPA, residents who traditionally relied on surrounding creeks and waterways can no longer safely depend on those sources for domestic use.
The organisation said many households now rely heavily on sachet water for drinking, cooking, bathing and other domestic needs, with a bag reportedly selling for as much as ₦1,000 and some households requiring up to 10 bags daily.
CAPPA also called for timely compensation and livelihood support for affected households, including assistance to restore fishing and other economic activities disrupted by the crisis.
Oluwafemi urged the media to maintain attention on the situation, monitor government responses and ensure that the concerns of Bille residents remain part of the national conversation.
He described the crisis as more than an environmental problem, saying it had become a public-health, human-rights, environmental-justice and corporate-accountability issue.
CAPPA said immediate and long-term action was required to prevent the situation from developing into a larger humanitarian and environmental disaster.
