A car dealer, Chima Edmund, has accused the Lagos State Police Command of releasing a suspect who allegedly attempted to steal a 2025 Toyota Tundra pickup valued at approximately N130m from his showroom in Victoria Garden City (VGC), Lekki, Lagos State.
Edmund, the founder of Mayor and Sheiks Autos, said the suspect allegedly drove the vehicle out of his showroom on Monday after pretending to be a potential buyer. However, the attempted escape reportedly ended when the pickup plunged into a canal in the Ajiran area.
The incident attracted widespread attention online on Tuesday, with the dealer putting the preliminary cost of repairing the damaged vehicle at about N40m.
In an exclusive interview with PUNCH Metro on Thursday, Edmund explained that the suspect arrived at his dealership around 4pm, carrying a bag, and requested to inspect the pickup.
According to him, a junior staff member attended to the man, who asked for the keys to the unsold vehicle, claiming he wanted to examine its 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.
The dealer explained that the showroom’s exit had a route requiring a supporting slab to bridge the difference in elevation between the vehicle display area and the main road.
He added that the pickup’s doors automatically locked when the suspect engaged the gear, after which he drove in the direction of the VGC Bridge.
Edmund said his employee immediately pursued the vehicle but found it difficult to convince people along the road that the driver was not the vehicle’s rightful owner.
He alleged that 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 stated that the incident resulted in damage to both the Toyota Tundra and a barricade at the VGC entrance.
He said he subsequently paid for the barricade’s repairs and covered expenses relating to the treatment of people injured during the incident. He also reportedly took responsibility for the suspect’s feeding and other associated costs.
The dealer further disclosed that he paid for the suspect’s medical care after the crash, explaining that the man was not detained in a police cell because of the injuries he sustained.
According to Edmund, the matter was first reported at the Ajah Police Division before it was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba. He said two women who introduced themselves as the suspect’s mother and sister later visited the facility.
He added that the women claimed to be from Agbor, Delta State, and expressed concern about recovering the money he had spent after discovering that the suspect had been released on bail.
Edmund also alleged that investigators pressured him to discontinue the case after determining that the suspect had 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.
The businessman appealed for assistance in recovering the financial losses he incurred, reiterating that preliminary assessments indicated that repairing the damaged Toyota Tundra would cost approximately N40m.
Edmund, who disclosed that he had been involved in the automobile business since 1996, described the incident as the first of its kind in his nearly 30 years in the industry.
