How an Indian-Owned Company’s CNG Truck Nearly Killed a Nigerian Author and His Family

It was supposed to be a journey home.

Instead, it became a terrifying fight for survival for Nigerian author and father of three, Tochi Maduba Ejiofor, his wife and their children.

On August 1, 2026, the family was travelling back to Abuja from Anambra State after attending the burial of Ejiofor’s father-in-law.

At an Army checkpoint in Kogi State, their journey came to a sudden and violent halt.

He said the family was waiting at the checkpoint when a CNG truck with registration number FZE-431IA, which he identified as belonging to Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company Ltd (SEEPCO), crashed into the rear of their Honda Accord 2018.

The impact was devastating.

According to Tochi, the collision sent the vehicle and its occupants into the bush, leaving him, his wife and their three children trapped inside the wreckage.

They survived, he said, because strangers at the scene pulled them from the mangled vehicle.

For a family returning from a funeral, the experience turned an already painful journey into what Tochi described as a nightmare.

From funeral journey to fight for survival

The family was not only left to deal with physical injuries.

Tochi said personal belongings, including a laptop, phones, cash and other effects, were destroyed or went missing in the aftermath of the crash.

He also said he had to personally bear the cost of towing the wrecked vehicle and paying for emergency treatment and other expenses.

Weeks after the accident, he said members of the family were still undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in the crash.

But the author’s anger goes beyond the accident itself.

He is demanding answers over what happened to the truck and its driver after the crash.

‘Why was the truck and driver released?’

Tochi alleged that while he was receiving treatment, the truck and its driver were released from Orakam Police Station without his knowledge or consent.

His own damaged vehicle, he said, remained impounded.

He subsequently instructed his lawyer to demand answers from the police.

He also claimed that representatives of the company admitted shortly after the crash that their driver had been reckless and was at fault.

He said that despite subsequent attempts to secure compensation for the destroyed vehicle, medical bills and other expenses arising from the accident, he has faced delays and what he described as dismissive treatment.

A call for corporate accountability

For Tochi, the issue is now about more than replacing a damaged car.

He wants the company’s leadership to intervene and take responsibility for the consequences of the crash.

He is appealing directly to the directors of Sterling Global Nigeria Ltd, saying they may not have been fully informed about what happened on the road in Kogi State.

His demands include the replacement of his destroyed vehicle, restoration of damaged or lost property and payment of the incidental costs incurred by his family following the accident.

Tochi described himself as a “law-abiding citizen of Nigeria” and said he is seeking justice through lawful means.

His message is unequivocal: having survived what he describes as a near-fatal crash, he does not intend to remain silent.

“I will not go and die,” he declared, insisting that he is prepared to pursue justice through every lawful channel available to him.

For a Nigerian family that narrowly escaped death on a highway, the question now is whether the company involved will respond to the family’s demand for redress and whether the authorities will provide answers about how the crash was handled.