A Lagos car dealer, Chima Edmund, has accused the Lagos State Police Command of improperly releasing a man accused of allegedly stealing a 2025 Toyota Tundra pickup worth about N130m from his showroom in Victoria Garden City (VGC), Lekki.
Edmund, founder of Mayor and Sheiks Autos, said the suspect drove the vehicle away from his dealership on Monday after posing as a prospective buyer but later crashed it into a canal in the Ajiran area while attempting to escape.
The incident, which went viral on Tuesday, reportedly left the pickup badly damaged, with the dealer estimating the cost of repairs at about N40m.
Recounting the incident, Edmund said the suspect arrived at his showroom around 4pm carrying a bag and asked to inspect the vehicle.
According to him, a junior staff member attended to the man, who requested the key to the unsold pickup under the pretext of checking its engine.
Edmund said the staff member watched as the suspect started the engine, believing he only wanted to inspect the vehicle. However, the man allegedly engaged the gear and drove off with the pickup.
He explained that the suspect exited the dealership through a route requiring a supporting slab because of the difference in elevation between the car stand and the main road.
The dealer added that the vehicle’s doors locked automatically after the suspect engaged the gear, as he drove towards the VGC Bridge.
Edmund said his staff member pursued the pickup but struggled to convince passers-by that the person driving it was not its owner.
He alleged that the suspect drove through a residential estate in Ajah, damaged a barricade at its entrance and continued towards Chevron and Ebeano before heading to Ajiran.
According to Edmund, the suspect eventually drove over a canal after reaching the end of a road and being unable to proceed. Some youths reportedly pulled him out of the canal.
The incident allegedly damaged both the pickup and a barricade at the VGC entrance.
Edmund said he subsequently paid for repairs to the barricade and covered the medical expenses of people injured during the incident, as well as the suspect’s treatment, feeding and other related costs.
He added that the suspect was not detained in a police cell because of the injuries he sustained in the crash.
The dealer said the matter was initially reported at the Ajah Police Division before being transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba.
He said two women who identified themselves as the suspect’s mother and sister later visited him, claiming they were from Agbor, Delta State.
Edmund said he became concerned about recovering his expenses after learning that the suspect had been released on bail.
He alleged that investigators pressured him to withdraw the complaint after establishing that the suspect had a psychiatric condition.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the development, the dealer said he was worried about bearing the financial burden of the incident alone.
Edmund appealed for assistance in recovering his losses, noting that 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 had never experienced a similar incident in nearly three decades of trading.
According to him, he had operated in different parts of Lagos, including Berger and FESTAC, before relocating to VGC, where he had attended to numerous customers without a similar occurrence.
The dealer also dismissed suggestions that the pickup had been left unattended, 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 a new vehicle that had not yet been sold. He said installing a tracker could require interference with the vehicle’s wiring and raise concerns among prospective buyers about its history.
He added that the pickup had a fuel tank capacity of about 130 litres, although its fuel gauge was already on red, indicating that approximately 30 litres remained when the suspect allegedly drove it away.
However, the Lagos State Police Command denied the allegation that the suspect was improperly released.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, said the suspect had been certified as a psychiatric patient by recognised government hospitals and competent courts.
According to her, the dealer withdrew the complaint after the information emerged during the investigation, prompting the police to hand the suspect over to his mother for rehabilitation.
“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,” Adebisi said in a WhatsApp message.
However, the police spokesperson did not provide the documents requested to substantiate the alleged medical certification and withdrawal of the complaint. The circumstances surrounding the suspect’s release could therefore not be independently verified.