The Pilex Centre for Civic Education Initiative has asked the Rivers State Magistrate’s Court to order a coroner’s inquest into the death of Joy Amos, who died from severe burn injuries sustained in a fire and explosion allegedly linked to gas leakage in Bille Community, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The petitioner is also seeking an order for the exhumation of Amos’ remains for forensic and post-mortem examination to establish the medical cause of her death and determine whether the injuries she sustained contributed to or caused her death.

Chairman of the Niger Delta Environmental Justice Lawyers’ Network, Dr Olisa Agbakoba, said the inquest was necessary because Amos’ death was unnatural and required an independent investigation into its circumstances.

“A coroner’s inquest is conducted by magistrates. When there’s an unnatural death, like in the case of Joy, you ask the magistrate to investigate why and what the causes were. That gives us evidence to take up the matter at different levels. That’s why we’re in that magistrate’s court,” he said.

Amos died on September 21, 2026, at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, where she had been receiving treatment for severe burn injuries sustained in the September 3 fire and explosion in Bille, according to the petition and a statement by the Network.

The petitioner said several issues surrounding the incident required proper investigation, including the source and cause of the alleged gas leakage, the cause of the fire and explosion, the nature and extent of Amos’ injuries, the treatment she received and the immediate and underlying cause of her death.

It also asked the court to determine whether the alleged gas leakage caused or contributed to the fire and explosion and whether any person, company, operator, agency or other entity bears responsibility for circumstances that contributed to the incident.
The petitioner further requested that Amos’ medical records be produced before the coroner, including her admission and treatment records, diagnosis, clinical notes, laboratory and imaging results, as well as medical reports relating to her injuries and death.

The petition followed a September 22 statement by the Niger Delta Environmental Justice Lawyers’ Network, which alleged that residents of Bille had lived for more than a year with volatile gas seepages and hazardous emissions despite warnings from community members, scientific reports and advocacy by civil society organisations.

Agbakoba said government officials had visited the community, but noted that concrete action had yet to follow.

He said the group was also using Amos’ death to draw the attention of presidential candidates to the environmental challenges facing Bille.

“We are using Joy Amos to call on the candidates,” he said, stressing the distinction between advocacy and concrete action.

The Network has called for an independent forensic investigation, identification and permanent sealing of the source of the gas seepage, temporary relocation of affected residents, relief materials and emergency healthcare.

It also demanded environmental restoration, a health impact study for Bille Kingdom, and compensation for Amos’ family and other affected residents.