Again ,Gas Explosion Rocks Bille, CAPPA Demands Urgent Government Action

Source: Independent post

Another gas explosion has occurred in Bille, an island community in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, leaving a resident severely injured and prompting renewed calls for urgent government intervention over persistent gas bubbling and seepage in the area.

The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), which raised the alarm, said the latest incident occurred at about 8 a.m. on Thursday, September 3, at No. 18, Opu Ibiila Community, Bille.

According to the organisation, the explosion set part of the house ablaze, shattered its windows and severely burned the occupant, identified as Joy Amos.

CAPPA said the incident occurred barely two weeks after it released its documentary and report, **“Danger! Bille Is Highly Flammable,”** in which it warned of the growing danger posed by gas emissions across the community.

The organisation said that during a visit to Bille on July 6, it documented gas emissions from wells, boreholes, residential compounds, waterways and school grounds, raising concerns that continued official inaction could result in a major disaster.

Narrating her experience, Amos said she had repeatedly heard bubbling sounds beneath the floor of her apartment at night before the explosion.

“I was in my room on the bed, using my phone, when I heard ‘poof!’ My windows shattered, and fire surrounded me,” she said.

Amos explained that she grabbed her phone and power bank before fleeing the room and calling for help.

The Vice President of the Bille Kingdom Youth Federation, Timothy Agunbiade, who arrived at the scene shortly after the incident, corroborated her account, saying the force of the explosion appeared to have travelled from inside the room outward.

Agunbiade said Amos had complained of hearing bubbling sounds in the room at night whenever the environment was quiet.

He added that the floor of the room had reportedly been generating heat before the explosion and appeared to be under pressure from beneath.

CAPPA expressed concern over the condition of the victim and called on the Rivers State Government to ensure that she receives immediate specialist medical attention, with all related treatment and rehabilitation costs covered.

The organisation described the incident as evidence that the situation in Bille had escalated into an emergency requiring more than official visits and sample collection.

“Bille exposes the inhuman bargain at the heart of reckless extraction in the Niger Delta. Wealth is taken from communities and transferred to corporations and the state, while residents are left with polluted water, damaged livelihoods, illness and danger,” CAPPA’s Assistant Executive Director, Zikora Ibeh, said.

Ibeh said no industry should be allowed to transfer the human and environmental costs of its operations to host communities.

“Whatever the investigation ultimately establishes as the source of these emissions, the failure to protect Bille after months of warnings is indefensible,” he added.

As an immediate precaution, CAPPA called for the suspension of all oil and gas activities in and around Bille pending the identification of the source of the bubbling and seepage and independent confirmation that the community is safe.

The organisation also urged the authorities to deploy emergency-response teams, evacuate residents to safe temporary accommodation, continuously monitor air and water quality, and provide residents with clear information on the risks and necessary safety precautions.

CAPPA further called on the Rivers State Government, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and other relevant agencies to launch a transparent and coordinated investigation into the crisis.

It said the investigation should determine the source of the emissions and assess all active, ageing, idle and abandoned oil and gas infrastructure around Bille, including wells, wellheads, pipelines and production facilities.

The group urged the authorities to immediately isolate, resolve or decommission any infrastructure found to be unsafe and publish all test results and investigative findings.

CAPPA also demanded that the government treat the situation as a public-health emergency by deploying multidisciplinary medical teams specialising in respiratory illnesses, toxic exposure and burn care.

It called for round-the-clock emergency clinics, ambulance and hospital referral services, as well as free diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation for affected residents.

Beyond medical intervention, the organisation demanded the provision of safe water, compensation and livelihood support for households whose fishing and other economic activities had been disrupted.

“The authorities were warned. A woman has now been severely burned, while the people of Bille remain exposed to potentially dangerous gases,” Ibeh said.

“Government must move residents out of harm’s way, provide urgent medical care, identify and stop the source of the emissions, and account publicly for its response.”

He warned that authorities must not wait until lives are lost before taking decisive action.

“The people of Bille have carried this burden long enough. Government cannot wait for deaths before acting,” Ibeh said.