A Lagos car dealer, Chima Edmund, has accused the state police command of freeing a suspect who allegedly attempted to steal a 2025 Toyota Tundra pickup worth about N130m from his showroom in Victoria Garden City, Lekki.
Edmund, founder of Mayor and Sheiks Autos, said the man posed as a buyer, drove the vehicle away, and eventually crashed it into a canal in Ajiran while trying to escape.
The incident, which went viral, left the pickup badly damaged, with repair costs estimated at N40m.
According to Edmund, the suspect arrived at the dealership with a bag, requested the key to inspect the vehicle, and then sped off.
He recounted that staff chased after the pickup but struggled to convince bystanders that the driver was not the owner.
The suspect reportedly damaged a barricade at VGC before ending up in the canal, where residents pulled him out.
The dealer said he bore the costs of repairing the barricade, treating injured persons, and even paying for the suspect’s medical care.
The case was later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Yaba, where the suspect’s family claimed he had psychiatric issues.
Edmund alleged that police pressured him to withdraw the case after investigators confirmed the suspect’s mental condition.
“For somebody who caused me such heavy damage, how am I going to bear these losses alone, knowing that the culprit has been released?” he lamented.
Police spokesperson SP Abimbola Adebisi, however, denied wrongdoing, insisting the suspect was certified as a psychiatric patient by government hospitals and courts.
She said Edmund withdrew the complaint, after which the suspect was released to his mother for rehabilitation.
Edmund, who has been in the automobile business since 1996, described the incident as unprecedented in his career and appealed for support to recover from the financial setback.
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