Broken Bus, Midnight Escape: GIG Motors Says It Owes Abandoned Passenger Nothing

GIG Motors has sparked outrage after declaring it was “not obliged” to refund a N68,000 ticket fee to a family whose elderly mother was abandoned overnight in a bush along the Abuja route after the company’s bus broke down in Edo State.

The incident occurred on September 4, 2025, when an Abuja-bound GIG Motors bus developed multiple mechanical faults before finally breaking down in a deserted area of Ekpoma, Edo State.

Sule Samson, a resident of Kogi State, said his aged mother, Onimisi Sule, travelled with her house help on the bus, hoping to alight in Lokoja. Because GIG Motors had no park in Lokoja, she boarded the company’s Warri–Abuja route.

According to Samson, the bus made repeated stops before becoming completely grounded in a bush. The driver reportedly contacted the company’s head office for assistance and told passengers another vehicle would be sent.
After waiting for hours without help, the driver left the passengers behind to look for a mechanic, promising to return. He never did.

As darkness fell, stranded passengers were forced to find their way out of the isolated area on their own. Some boarded trailers, while Samson’s frail mother and her house help were left vulnerable and terrified.

“It was one of the worst moments of my life,” Samson revealed. “I couldn’t reach my mother because her phone battery was low. Ekpoma is known for kidnappings, so I was thinking the worst.”

He said when a call eventually came through from his mother’s line, he feared it might be kidnappers demanding ransom.
“They finally managed to escape around midnight, spending an extra N140,000 to get from Ekpoma to Lokoja. They arrived home around 1am,” he said.

Samson later contacted GIG Motors to demand a refund of the N68,000 ticket fee, but was directed to submit a formal complaint by email. In a September 22 response, the transport company stunned the family by stating it was “not obliged” to refund the fare, instead offering an 80 percent discount on a future trip.

Outraged, Samson described the response as “insensitive and insulting” and threatened legal action.

Through his lawyer, Mary Akpa of T.J. AONDO SAN & Co., Samson issued a demand letter seeking a refund of the ticket fare, reimbursement of the N140,000 spent to escape Ekpoma, and N10 million in compensation for emotional distress.

Following the legal pressure, GIG Motors shifted its position, first offering an 80 percent refund and later, in a December 18, 2025 letter, agreeing to refund the full transportation fare.
However, Samson said he had rejected the offer, insisting that the matter had gone beyond a simple refund.

“They caused my family severe emotional distress. I lost focus completely that day. I want a court to determine our rights and their obligations,” he said.

Efforts to obtain comments from GIG Motors were unsuccessful, as calls to its contact centre went unanswered at press time.

Meanwhile,  GIG Motors’ website contains a one-sided refund policy that allows the company to deduct between 15 and 50 percent from passengers who cancel trips, but makes no clear provision for refunds when the company itself fails to deliver the service paid for.

(FIJ)