Another gas-related explosion has occurred in Bille, an island community in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, leaving a resident with severe burns and prompting renewed calls for urgent government intervention over persistent gas bubbling and seepage in the community.
The explosion occurred at about 8am on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at No. 18, Opu Ibiila Community, Bille, according to Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA.
The organisation said the blast set part of the building ablaze, shattered its windows and severely injured the occupant, Joy Amos, who sustained extensive burns.
Amos, an Ogoni native, told CAPPA that she had frequently heard bubbling sounds from beneath the floor of her apartment at night. She said she was using her phone on Thursday morning when she heard a loud sound before the windows shattered and flames engulfed the room.
“I was in my room on the bed, using my phone, when I heard ‘poof!’ My windows shattered, and fire surrounded me. I grabbed my phone and power bank—the only things I remembered to take—and ran out of the room naked,” she said.
Timothy Agunbiade, Vice President of the Bille Kingdom Youth Federation, who arrived shortly after the incident, corroborated Amos’ account. He said the explosion appeared to have travelled from inside the room outward and that the floor had been generating heat before the blast.
CAPPA said the incident occurred barely two weeks after it released its documentary and report, “Danger! Bille Is Highly Flammable,” which warned of the escalating risks posed by gas bubbling and seepage across the community.
During a July 6 visit, the organisation said it documented gas emissions from wells, boreholes, residential compounds, waterways and school grounds, warning that continued inaction could result in a major disaster.
CAPPA’s Assistant Executive Director, Zikora Ibeh, said the latest explosion demonstrated that the situation had become an emergency requiring more than official visits, sample collection and delayed action.
“No industry should be permitted to transfer the human and environmental costs of its operations onto communities. Whatever the investigation ultimately establishes as the source of these emissions, the failure to protect Bille after months of warnings is indefensible,” Ibeh said.
The organisation called for the immediate suspension of oil and gas activities in and around Bille until the source of the emissions is established and independent experts confirm that the community is safe.
It also demanded emergency-response measures across the community, including the evacuation of residents from high-risk areas to temporary safe accommodation, continuous monitoring of air and water quality and clear public guidance on the dangers posed by the emissions.
CAPPA urged 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), the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and other relevant authorities to conduct a transparent and coordinated investigation with independent experts.
The group said the investigation should determine the source of the emissions and assess oil and gas infrastructure around Bille, including active, ageing, idle and abandoned wells, wellheads, pipelines and production facilities.
It also called for unsafe infrastructure to be isolated, resolved or decommissioned, with authorities publishing test results and investigative findings and providing residents with a clear timeline for ending the emissions.
Beyond environmental measures, CAPPA urged the government to treat the situation as a public-health emergency by providing specialist medical teams, emergency clinics, ambulance and hospital referral services, as well as free diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation for affected residents.
The organisation further demanded safe drinking water, compensation and livelihood support for households affected by disruptions to fishing and other economic activities.
“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.”