A car dealer, Chima Edmund, has accused the Lagos State Police Command of releasing a man suspected of stealing a 2025 Toyota Tundra pickup valued at about N130m from his showroom in Victoria Garden City (VGC), Lekki, Lagos State.
Edmund, founder of Mayor and Sheiks Autos, said the suspect allegedly drove the vehicle away from his showroom on Monday after posing as a prospective buyer but crashed it into a canal in the Ajiran area while attempting to escape.
The incident went viral on Tuesday, with the dealer estimating the cost of repairing the damaged pickup at about N40m.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Metro on Thursday, Edmund said the suspect arrived at his dealership at about 4pm with a bag and requested to inspect the vehicle.
According to him, a junior staff member attended to the man, who asked for the key under the pretext of checking the vehicle’s engine.
“On Monday, the guy came to my outlet around 4pm. He met my junior staff and came in with a bag as a customer. He asked for the 2025 Toyota Tundra pickup, which costs around N130m, and demanded the key to check it. He dropped his bag inside it, and the staff watched him start the engine, thinking he only wanted to check it. But the man engaged the gear and drove off,” Edmund said.
He explained that the vehicle left the dealership through an exit that required a supporting slab because of the difference in height between the car stand and the main road.
Edmund said the vehicle’s doors locked automatically when the suspect engaged the gear, after which he drove towards the VGC Bridge.
He added that a staff member pursued the vehicle but found it difficult to persuade passers-by that the driver was not its owner.
According to the dealer, the suspect drove through a residential estate in Ajah, damaged an entrance barricade and continued towards Chevron and Ebeano before heading to Ajiran.
“On getting to Ajiran, he could not find his way again. He realised he had driven to the end of the road, and when he could not proceed, he drove over the canal until the vehicle landed in it. That was when some boys dragged him out,” the dealer said.
Edmund said the incident damaged both the pickup and the barricade at the VGC entrance.
He added that he paid for the barricade repairs and incurred expenses on treating people injured during the incident, as well as covering the suspect’s feeding and other related costs.
The dealer also said he paid for the suspect’s medical treatment following the crash. He explained that the man was not detained in a cell because of the injuries he had sustained.
Edmund said the case was initially reported at the Ajah Police Division before it was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba. He said two women who identified themselves as the suspect’s mother and sister subsequently visited him.
According to him, the women said they were from Agbor, Delta State. He added that he became concerned about recovering his expenses after learning that the suspect had been released on bail.
The dealer alleged that investigators pressured him to withdraw the complaint after the suspect was found to have a psychiatric condition.
“I am already suspecting foul play in the police dealings because I was hurried to close the case when the man was confirmed to be a psychiatric patient. Just yesterday evening, he had been released on bail.
“For somebody who caused me such heavy damage, how am I going to bear these losses alone, knowing that the culprit has been released? Somebody attempted to steal a car from my outlet. It is sad,” he said.
Edmund appealed for assistance in recovering his financial losses, saying preliminary estimates put the cost of repairing the damaged Toyota Tundra at about N40m.
He said he had been in the automobile business since 1996 and described the incident as unprecedented in his nearly three decades in the industry.
According to him, he had operated in different parts of Lagos, including Berger and FESTAC, before relocating to VGC. He said he had never experienced a similar incident despite dealing with numerous customers over the years.
Edmund noted that it was difficult to identify suspicious customers by their appearance, adding that some casually dressed clients had purchased vehicles worth more than N200m from his dealership.
He also rejected suggestions that the pickup had been left unattended with the suspect, insisting that a proper test drive should involve at least two people accompanying a prospective buyer.
On why the vehicle did not have a tracking device, Edmund explained that it was new and had not yet been sold.
He said installing a tracker before a vehicle was purchased could require interference with its wiring system and raise concerns among prospective buyers about whether it was a Nigerian-used vehicle.
The dealer added that the pickup had a fuel tank capacity of about 130 litres, but the fuel gauge was already on red, indicating that approximately 30 litres remained when the suspect allegedly drove it away.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Abimbola Adebisi, denied the allegation that the police had improperly released the suspect.
Adebisi said recognised government hospitals and competent courts had certified the suspect as a psychiatric patient. She added that the dealer withdrew the complaint after the information emerged during the investigation.
“The suspect is a psychiatric case, certified by recognised government hospitals and competent courts.
“All these were well known by the complainant in the course of our investigation. This prompted him to submit a withdrawal letter, whereupon the suspect was handed over to his mother for rehabilitation,” she said in a WhatsApp message to our correspondent.
However, PUNCH Metro said it could not independently verify the police spokesperson’s claims because she did not provide the documents requested by the correspondent to substantiate the alleged medical certification and withdrawal of the complaint.