A Lagos car dealer, Chima Edmund, has accused the state police command of releasing a man who allegedly drove a N130m Toyota Tundra from his showroom and crashed it into a canal, leaving him with an estimated N40m repair bill.
Edmund, founder of Mayor and Sheiks Autos, said the suspect posed as a prospective buyer before allegedly driving away with the 2025 pickup from his dealership in the Victoria Garden City area of Lekki on Monday.
The vehicle was reportedly damaged after the suspect drove into a canal in Ajiran while attempting to escape. The incident went viral on Tuesday.
Speaking about the incident, Edmund said the man arrived at his showroom around 4pm carrying a bag and asked to inspect the vehicle.
He said a junior staff member gave the man access to the pickup under the impression that he wanted to check its engine.
“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,” the dealer said.
According to Edmund, the vehicle left the dealership through an exit that required a supporting slab to connect the car stand to the main road.
He said the suspect drove towards the VGC Bridge as a staff member pursued him but struggled to convince passers-by that the driver was not the vehicle’s owner.
The suspect allegedly drove through a residential estate in Ajah, damaged a barricade at the entrance and continued towards Chevron and Ebeano before heading to Ajiran.
Edmund said the man eventually drove over a canal after reaching the end of the road and being unable to proceed.
“That was when some boys dragged him out,” he said.
The dealer said the incident damaged both the pickup and a barricade at the VGC entrance. He added that he paid for the barricade repairs, treatment for people injured during the incident and the suspect’s medical care, feeding and other related expenses.
He said the suspect was not detained in a cell because of the injuries sustained in the crash.
According to Edmund, the case was first 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 later visited him, claiming they were from Agbor, Delta State.
The dealer said he became concerned about recovering his expenses after learning that the suspect had been released on bail.
He also alleged that investigators pressured him to withdraw the complaint after the suspect was reportedly identified as having 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,” Edmund said.
“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 appealed for assistance in recovering his losses, saying preliminary estimates put the cost of repairing the Toyota Tundra at about N40m.
Edmund, who said he had been in the automobile business since 1996, described the incident as unprecedented in his nearly three decades in the trade.
He said he had operated in Berger and FESTAC before relocating to VGC and had never experienced a similar incident despite dealing with numerous customers.
The dealer dismissed suggestions that the vehicle had been left unattended with the suspect, arguing that a proper test drive should involve at least two people accompanying a prospective buyer.
He also explained that the pickup had no tracking device because it was new and had not been sold. According to him, installing a tracker before a sale could require interference with the vehicle’s wiring and raise questions among prospective buyers about its history.
However, the Lagos State Police Command denied 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.
She also claimed that Edmund withdrew the complaint after the information emerged during the investigation.
“The suspect is a psychiatric case, certified by recognised government hospitals and competent courts,” Adebisi said in a WhatsApp message.
“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.”
However, the claims could not be independently verified, as the police spokesperson did not provide documents requested to substantiate the alleged medical certification and withdrawal of the complaint.
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