Call for Investigation into Okrika Deaths and Gas Issues

Environmentalist and climate advocate Nnimmo Bassey has asked for an independent probe into the deaths of at least 37 people linked to an illegal oil theft operation in Okrika, Rivers State.

The Rivers State police have confirmed the deaths but promised to keep looking into what happened.

"The Rivers State Police Command can confirm the deaths. The victims were allegedly attempting to steal crude oil," said police spokesperson Blessing Agbabe to DW News, a German news outlet.

Mr Bassey, in a piece called "Gassing the Niger Delta," stated that this incident should push for urgent action to deal with long-standing environmental and safety issues in the oil-rich area.

The deaths happened on Thursday at Okari Jetty in Okrika Mainland, where people believed to be involved in illegal oil bunkering had gathered to load petroleum. Community sources and the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) reported that at least 37 people died after inhaling toxic fumes. Many others were said to be missing.

Mr Bassey noted that the exact reason for the deaths was still unclear because, at the time of his commentary, there had been no official or independent inquiry into the matter.

"Obviously, the last breath of the dead may have been of noxious gases released under high pressure," he wrote, adding that the victims might also have drowned after losing consciousness.

The YEAC-Nigeria Executive Director, Fyneface Dumnamene, urged the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to quickly carry out a Joint Investigation Visit to the site. He also called on the company whose pipeline was vandalized to step up security around its facilities.

Mr Bassey linked the Okrika deaths to ongoing methane gas leaks in Bille, a fishing community in the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.

PREMIUM TIMES reported in June that gas has been bubbling from old oil and gas facilities in Bille for nearly a year, putting residents' health and livelihoods at risk. The report noted that early assessments by NOSDRA found methane, volatile organic compounds, and hydrogen sulphide in the air.

Amnesty International, in a March report, stated that gas has been bubbling since October 2025 in rivers, swamps, and drinking wells in Bille. The organization mentioned that the Nigerian government investigated but had not shared the results or taken steps to stop the leaks.

In May, Amnesty said residents were still facing a serious health crisis and that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission had started an investigation. It called for the findings to be made public and for the leaks to be addressed.

Mr Bassey, in his commentary, said, "As we write this, the gas is still dangerously emitting in the community and could erupt in flames at any time. There have been some palliatives or relief materials by the government, and the provision of a fire truck that cannot access much of the community.

"We also hear of the provision of fire extinguishers in the community. These are all laughable actions in the face of an impending tragedy. Visitors to Bille end up getting sick within a short period of time. Residents, especially children and the elderly, develop illnesses at rates that signal something toxic is happening in the community and that the risks extend beyond possible fire outbreaks.

"The truth is that the Bille community is being gassed while the government and the oil companies are wringing their hands and watching from the sidelines. I recall hearing a minister of state on television claim that there were no oil facilities in Bille. Such crass, obnoxious ignorance!"

He also mentioned the fire at the Ororo-1 oil well, offshore Awoye in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, which started in May 2020.

A PREMIUM TIMES report in April noted that the fire was still burning more than six years later. NOSDRA had earlier said the fire followed an explosion during workover operations on the well.

Mr Bassey said the Okrika deaths should not become just another tragedy that grabs attention only until the victims are buried.

"The dead will be buried. They will be branded criminals, and perhaps rightly so. But we all know that oil thievery is an industrial activity with a long value chain, and players, so to speak," he wrote.

Mr Bassey called for cleaning up the Niger Delta, removing old oil facilities, and replacing and burying pipelines.

He also demanded the implementation of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission report and called for a fair transition away from relying on crude oil.

"Our lives are worth more than crude oil," he said.