Advocates Demand State of Emergency Over Severe Gas Leakage in Rivers State Community

Environmentalists and civil society organizations have called on the Federal Government to immediately declare an environmental state of emergency in Bille Kingdom, located within the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State. The demand follows a prolonged environmental crisis characterized by persistent gas emissions bubbling from the earth and local waterways.

The environmental hazard has contaminated primary water sources and severely disrupted local livelihoods in the coastal community for over six months. Following an extensive weekend field assessment of the impacted sites, advocacy groups reported that the ongoing contamination threatens the health and safety of thousands of coastal residents.

“Gas is bubbling from beneath the earth and across the water surfaces throughout the community,” stated Isaac Osuoka, Executive Director of Social Action. “The water wells that residents depend on for drinking are entirely polluted. Despite repeated appeals from the community over the last half-year, regulatory bodies have failed to deliver a concrete intervention.”

The field inspection by non-governmental organizations prompted localized protests, with residents gathering to display placards highlighting the destruction of regional mangrove ecosystems, the collapse of local fishing and farming, and the heightened risk of respiratory illnesses due to severe air pollution.

Advocates criticized the apparent inaction of key regulatory bodies, including the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. Activists warned that the riverine terrain complicates emergency logistics, noting that standard emergency response equipment would face severe deployment constraints in the event of a major fire outbreak.

Prominent regional rights activist Ann-Kio Briggs, who participated in the community tour, expressed deep concern over the atmospheric toxicity and the constant threat of a fire disaster.

Briggs urged the federal administration and the leadership of the national petroleum company to dispatch specialized technical teams to locate the source of the seepage and implement containment measures. She also questioned why comprehensive ecological and subsidence studies had not yet been commissioned to evaluate the long-term impact on the community.

Community leaders and youth groups have warned that if immediate remediation and clean-up efforts are not initiated, residents may be forced to disrupt regional energy operations to protect their local environment and public health.