Another gas-related explosion has occurred in Bille, an island community in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, with Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) warning that the situation could trigger a major disaster if urgent government action is not taken.

The explosion occurred at about 8 a.m. on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at No. 18, Opu Ibiila Community, Bille, barely two weeks after CAPPA released a documentary and report warning about widespread gas bubbling and seepage in the community.

The blast reportedly set part of a residential building ablaze, shattered its windows and severely burned the occupant, identified as Joy Amos.

CAPPA, in a statement on Saturday, said Amos sustained extensive burns and requires urgent specialist medical attention. It called on the Rivers State Government to ensure that she receives immediate treatment and that all medical and rehabilitation costs arising from the incident are covered.

According to the organisation, Amos said she had frequently heard bubbling sounds from beneath the floor of her apartment at night.
Recounting the incident, she said she was lying on her bed and using her phone when she suddenly heard a loud “poof”, after which the windows shattered and fire surrounded her.

She said she managed to escape the room with her phone and power bank before dropping them near the bathroom and running outside to call for help.

The Vice President of the Bille Kingdom Youth Federation, Timothy Agunbiade, who arrived at the scene shortly afterwards, corroborated her account.

Agunbiade said Amos’s phone, power bank and gas cylinder were unaffected, while the force of the explosion appeared to have travelled from inside the room outwards.

He added that Amos had told him she regularly heard bubbling sounds in her room at night and had complained to one or two people, although she had not informed her landlady.

According to him, the floor of the room had also been generating heat before the explosion and appeared to be under pressure from beneath.
The latest incident occurred about two weeks after CAPPA presented its documentary and report, Danger! Bille Is Highly Flammable, which called for urgent government intervention over worsening gas bubbling and seepage across the community.

During a visit to Bille on July 6, CAPPA said it documented emissions from wells, boreholes, residential compounds, waterways and school grounds, warning that continued inaction could result in a major disaster.

Reacting to the latest explosion, CAPPA said the incident confirmed that Bille was facing an escalating emergency that could no longer be addressed through official visits and sample collection without decisive action.

CAPPA’s Assistant Executive Director, Zikora Ibeh, said the situation reflected what he described as the unfair burden placed on communities located around oil and gas extraction activities in the Niger Delta.

“No industry should be permitted to transfer the human and environmental costs of its operations onto communities,” Ibeh said.
He added that regardless of what a formal investigation eventually establishes as the source of the emissions, the failure to protect Bille after months of warnings was indefensible.

As an immediate precaution, CAPPA demanded the suspension of all oil and gas activities in and around Bille until the cause of the bubbling and seepage is established and independent experts confirm that the community is safe.

The group also called for emergency-response teams to be deployed to the community, the evacuation of residents to safe temporary accommodation where necessary, continuous monitoring of air and water quality, and clear public guidance on the risks and precautions residents should take.

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), Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and other relevant authorities to launch a transparent and coordinated investigation into the crisis.

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

The organisation further urged the authorities to resolve, isolate or decommission unsafe infrastructure without delay, while publishing all test results and investigative findings.
It also demanded a clear timetable for ending the emissions and making the community safe, as well as adequate information to residents about the risks posed by the situation.

CAPPA called for the crisis to be treated as a public-health emergency, demanding multidisciplinary medical teams with expertise in respiratory illness, toxic exposure and burn care.

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

Beyond the immediate response, CAPPA demanded safe water, compensation and livelihood support for households whose lives, fishing activities and other sources of income have 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 the government must not wait for deaths before acting, stressing that residents of Bille had carried the burden for long enough.

“The wealth extracted from the Niger Delta cannot continue to enrich corporations and public coffers while host communities are left to breathe contaminated air, drink unsafe water and fear explosions in their homes,” Ibeh said.
“The people of Bille have carried this burden long enough. Government cannot wait for deaths before acting.”