‘We Nearly Died’: Nigerian Author Demands Redress From Indian-Owned Company Over CNG Truck Crash 

A Nigerian author and father of three, Tochi Maduba Ejiofor, has appealed for urgent intervention and redress from Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company Ltd (SEEPCO), an Indian-owned company, following a road crash that he says nearly claimed the lives of his family.

Tochi, in a press statement, said the incident occurred on August 1, 2026, while he, his wife and their three children were returning to Abuja from Anambra State after attending the burial of his father-in-law.

According to him, the family was waiting at an Army checkpoint in Kogi State when a CNG truck, with registration number FZE-431IA and allegedly belonging to SEEPCO, crashed into the rear of their Honda Accord 2018 model.

He said the impact sent the vehicle into the bush, leaving the family trapped inside the wreckage.

“I am Tochi Maduba Ejiofor, a father, a husband, an author, and a law-abiding citizen of Nigeria,” he said, describing his appeal as a fight for the dignity, safety and survival of his family.

Tochi said strangers at the scene eventually rescued him, his wife and their children from the mangled vehicle.

He further alleged that some of the family’s belongings, including a laptop, phones, cash and personal effects, were either destroyed or stolen at the scene.

According to him, he personally paid for the towing of the wrecked vehicle, emergency medical treatment and other expenses arising from the incident, while members of his family have continued to receive treatment weeks after the crash.

Truck, driver allegedly released

Tochi’s concerns also extend to the handling of the truck and its driver after the crash.

He alleged that while he was receiving treatment, SEEPCO secured the release of the truck and driver from Orakam Police Station without his knowledge or consent.

He said his damaged vehicle, however, remained impounded at the station.

“Justice, it seems, moves swiftly for the powerful and not at all for the wounded,” he stated.

The author said he had instructed his lawyer to demand explanations from the police over the circumstances surrounding the release.

He also claimed that representatives of the company had admitted liability shortly after the incident, alleging that the driver had been reckless and at fault.

However, according to Ejiofor, subsequent attempts to secure compensation for his vehicle, medical expenses and other costs had been unsuccessful.

‘I will pursue justice through lawful channels’

Tochi appealed directly to the directors of Sterling Global Nigeria Ltd to intervene in the matter, saying they may not have been fully briefed about what happened.

He called on the company’s leadership to replace his destroyed vehicle, restore his family’s damaged or lost property and settle the incidental expenses arising from the accident.

He warned that if the appeal was ignored, he would pursue redress through every lawful channel available to him.

“I will not go and die. I will not fade quietly into the long list of ordinary Nigerians whose suffering is dismissed as the cost of doing business by foreign multinational companies,” he said.

Tochi said his family had nearly lost their lives on the road and that he would not allow the family’s dignity to be taken from them after the incident.

“I am prepared to pursue justice through every lawful channel available to me, for as long as it takes, whatever the cost,” he stated.

The appeal comes amid the family’s continuing search for compensation and accountability over the August 1 crash.