𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐓𝐀 𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐃: 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐢 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐨𝐝𝐨 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲

The collective leadership and indigenous people of the 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐢 𝐌𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 have raised a critical alarm over their systematic exclusion from an upcoming seismic survey by 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝. The kingdom warns that the company’s “divide-and-rule” tactics threaten to disrupt the fragile peace of the region and could trigger fresh militancy in the Niger Delta.

The urgent warning is being jointly issued on behalf of the fifteen constituent communities of the kingdom: 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐢, 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐢 𝐈𝐈, 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲-𝐀𝐦𝐚, 𝐄𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐚, 𝐈𝐠𝐛𝐨𝐠𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞, 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐢-𝐈𝐥𝐚𝐣𝐞 (𝐀𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐲𝐨), 𝐄𝐠𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐨, 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞, 𝐈𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐛𝐚, 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐨, 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐤𝐨𝐧, 𝐄𝐧𝐮𝐠𝐮 𝐓𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐞, 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐬𝐢, 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐢-𝐀𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐧, 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐮-𝐆𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐨𝐝𝐨 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲.

In a series of strong declarations, community leaders, traditional stakeholders, and the diaspora leadership called on the Federal Government, the Bayelsa State Government, and national security agencies to urgently call the oil firm to order before the situation degenerates into an unmanageable crisis.

𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

According to stakeholders, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited hosted a Seismic Survey Stakeholder Engagement Open Forum on July 7, 2026, completely omitting the Bilabiri communities. A second follow-up engagement meeting was held, and the entire kingdom was again deliberately sidelined.

Meanwhile, the company has reportedly mobilised neighbouring communities—including Letugbene, Amatu, and Orobiri—with lucrative job slots and major community assets, including two high-powered speedboats. Information has now reached the kingdom that the company intends to deploy workers and equipment into Agoliyo land and other vital operational areas within the Dodo River axis, which fall strictly under Bilabiri ancestral domain.

“𝐃𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬”

Speaking to newsmen, 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐓𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐚 (𝐂𝐃𝐂 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧) cautioned the company against misinterpreting the community’s peaceful disposition.

“𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘸-𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘺𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘥𝘰 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘥𝘰 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺.”

The Paramount Ruler, 𝐇𝐑𝐇 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫, strongly warned the oil firm to steer clear of their territories until proper channels of engagement are established.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘪-𝘋𝘰𝘥𝘰 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥.”

𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩

Further reinforcing the position of the kingdom, 𝐏𝐚𝐞𝐛𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐢 𝐈𝐛𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐞 (National Association of Bilabiri Kingdom Indigenes, Home and Diaspora), emphasized that the global community of Bilabiri indigenes is fully mobilized to defend their homeland.

“𝘙𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘺𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘐𝘣𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘺𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘥𝘰 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴.”

Adding weight to the warning, 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐫, a prominent Kingdom High Chief from Bilabiri II Community, cautioned the company against misinterpreting the kingdom’s peaceful demeanor for weakness.

“”𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘢𝘸. 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘥𝘰 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺: 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳, 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥.”

𝐀𝐧 𝐔𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬

The Bilabiri leadership noted that this exact pattern of corporate neglect, selective empowerment, and the outright sidelining of true host communities is historically what forces peaceful youths into agitation and sparks militancy across the Niger Delta.

To prevent an imminent breakdown of law and order, the leaders are making a direct, urgent appeal to:

• The 𝐅𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC)
• His Excellency, the 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 and 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐲𝐞 (𝐑𝐭𝐝.) Chief Security Coordinator and the Coordinator of the Bayelsa State Community Safety Corps
• The 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 (𝐉𝐓𝐅) 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡-𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 and the 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 (𝐃𝐒𝐒).

The government must act swiftly to compel Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited to halt any deployment to the Dodo River axis and immediately engage the rightful landholders of the fifteen Bilabiri communities to avoid a volatile escalation that could disrupt regional peace and national oil production.