‘Stop di gas pollution bifor e kill us finish’ - Pipo of Bille for Rivers State cry out sake of gas leak

Di pipo of Bille Kingdom for Degema Local Govment Area of Rivers State, south-south Nigeria dey cry to di Nigerian govment to stop di gas leak wey dey pollute di town.

Na since October 2025, na im di pipo begin see say gas dey leak wen dem notice say some parts of di river dey bubble like water wey dey boil.

Dem also see say some of dia water facilities like wells and monopumps also dey leak gas and for May 2026, one of di monopumps wey dey leak gas catch fire wey cause panic for di community.

According to Owanemi Emmanuel Deinbo, dem no fit drink water for di community again sake of di gas pollution becos if pesin fetch di water, afta some seconds di clear water go turn black.

"We get a situation wia gas dey bubble from di ground uncontrolled for Bille Town for some time now and we no know di root cause of di problem.

If you fetch di water, e dey clear but afta a little while e go turn black. Dis no be miracle but na di environmental problems we dey suffer here for Bille Town.

Deinbo say di community don report di mata to a lot of govment regulatory bodis like di National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (Nosdra), Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Ministry of Environment and even to di Office of di National Security Adviser as e don become national security issue but notin don happun to address di issue.

"Air quality test suggest say di air we dey breathe for Bille Town dey highly concentrated and dangerously polluted wit methane gas."

Deinbo add say a few weeks ago for May 2026, one abandoned monopump wey neva produce water bifor suddenly begin gush out water and gas and e kon catch fire wey cause serious panic for di community. Video of di fire outbreak bin go viral on social media.

"From dat fire incident nai m we confam say di gas wey dey leak for Bille Town actually dey inflammable as a cause serious fire wey di local pipo try to quench. Yet we still dey live wit di situation till now."

Anoda indigene Nene Akinte say dem no get drinking water again since October 2025 wen e start as dem gatz buy pure water to drink or depend on rain water.

“If you go river and enta di place wey dey boil, na so your leg go burn, black and under your leg go begin peel. Na so we dey suffer. So make una help us tell govment to help us,” she tok.

State School 1 Bille close down sake of gas pollution

Truth Fresh wey be community-paid teacher wey dey teach for di govment school for Bille narrate last year say dem notice say for di school field, gas dey boil from di ground.

"We see say witout warning incident, gas dey boil out of ground for di school field like wen you put water for fire and not only for one place, e dey like dat for different places."

She say wen dem fetch water for di town, e dey smell like rotten egg and e get different colours as some dey green, odas dey brown and black and even if dem use am baff, dia bodi go begin scratch dem.

She call for urgent intervention as di gas pollution dey affect school children and dey make dem sick.

"Wen we dey teach di children for school, sometimes di children go dey vomit, some go complain of headache, some dey get chest pain and dizziness as dia eyes dey turn dem so we gatz send dem home. Dis dey happun on a daily basis. Di air dey smell so bad we dey say gas don mess o becos di air dey smell like rotten eggs. Di environment no good so we dey beg govment to come help us."

Sake of di gas leak and health risks, dem gatz close down one section of di primary school UBE section of State School 1 Bille and move di children to di secondary school area. So presently, di UBE section of di school dey closed and not in use.

‘Declare state of emergency to stop di gas pollution for Bille’

Environmentalists and civil society groups dey ask di Nigerian govment to declare a state of emergency to stop di gas pollution for Bille.

Di Bille community wit environmental groups like Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative, Social Action International and civil society groups like Ijaw Youth Council, Ijaw National Congress, Kebetkache Women development and resource centre do demonstration to draw attention to wetin dey happun dia.

Celestine Akpobari wey environmentalist say dem come to stand wit Bille pipo so dem no go feel like say dem dey alone.

"E no good say Bille pipo don dey cry for dis long and govment neva do anytin about am. We wan tell dem say we stand wit dem. Dem no dey alone."

Ann Kio Briggs wey be Niger Delta activist say today na Bille, tomorrow e fit happun for anoda Niger Delta community and wetin affect one pesin dey affect evribodi.

"Crisis dey wey dey threaten di lives of Bille pipo. Water for Bille don turn green, if you fetch some e dey turn black, wetin e dey do di pipo if dem drink am? Govment know wetin to do as dia responsibility na to make sure say evriwia pipo dey safe but govment don fail Bille pipo as dem dey dig oil since, so make dem stop dis pollution," she tok

She tell Bille pipo say di gas leak no be dia fault and make dem continue to fight as dem go stand wit dem as dem stand wit Ogoni pipo.

Environmentalist Isaac Osuoka say di situation for Bille dey shock pipo as di place dey polluted wit hydrocarbons wey dey bubble evriwia.

E hold NNPCL wey take ova from Shell wey begin oil exploration for di area responsible for wetin dey happun and say di fire truck wey dem station for di community no dey enof to address di situation as di fire truck no fit move from wia e dey to any place for di community in case fire burst. E ask dem to stop di gas pollution.

Wetin govment don do?

Di NNPCL don station one fire truck for Bille Town in case anoda fire burst.

Dem do dis one afta di fire outbreak happun for di time for May 2026, though many pipo say e no dey enof.

For April 2026, di Rivers State govment provide some interim relief to di pipo of Bille Kingdom as dem dey intensify efforts to address di environmental degradation for di area.

During di working visit to Bille Kingdom, di Govnor represented by di Secretary to do State Govment Dagogo Wokoma bin announce immediate intervention measures to address urgent needs for di community wey include provision of potable water and essential medical services, supported by di release of ₦100 million as palliative assistance. But di pipo say dem want di gas pollution to stop.