Lagos Car Dealer Claims Police Released Theft Suspect, Leaving Him with N40m Losses

A car dealer, Chima Edmund, has accused the Lagos State Police of letting go a man suspected of trying to steal a 2025 Toyota Tundra pickup worth about N130m from his showroom in Victoria Garden City, Lekki, Lagos State.

Edmund, who is the founder of Mayor and Sheiks Autos, said the suspect drove the vehicle away on Monday after pretending to be a buyer. He crashed it into a canal in the Ajiran area while trying to escape.

The news spread quickly on Tuesday, with Edmund estimating that fixing the damaged vehicle will cost around N40m.

In an exclusive interview with PUNCH Metro on Thursday, Edmund said the suspect came to the dealership around 4pm with a bag and asked to see the pickup. He said a junior staff member helped the man, who asked for the key to check 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 explained.

Edmund said the vehicle left the dealership through a route that needed a support slab because of the height difference between the car stand and the main road. He added that the vehicle's doors locked automatically when the suspect engaged the gear, and he drove towards the VGC Bridge.

His staff member chased after the vehicle but had a hard time convincing bystanders that the man driving was not the owner. The suspect drove through a residential area in Ajah, damaged a barricade at the entrance, 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 mentioned that the escape attempt damaged the pickup and a barricade at the VGC entrance. He said he paid to fix the barricade and also spent money on treating injured people during the incident, as well as the suspect's feeding and other related expenses.

The dealer also covered the suspect's medical treatment after the crash. He said the man was not kept in a cell because of his injuries. The case was first reported at the Ajah Police Division and later moved to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba. Two women, who identified themselves as the suspect’s mother and sister, visited him.

Edmund said the women claimed to be from Agbor, Delta State. He became worried about getting his money back after finding out that the suspect had been released on bail. Edmund claimed he felt pressured to drop the case after investigators found out 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.

Edmund is asking for help to recover his financial losses, saying it will cost about N40m to repair the damaged Toyota Tundra. The dealer has been in the automobile business since 1996, and he described this incident as the worst in his nearly thirty years in the trade.

He has worked in several areas of Lagos, like Berger and FESTAC, before moving to VGC. He said he had never faced a situation like this, despite serving many customers over the years. Edmund mentioned that it is tough to identify suspicious customers based on how they look, noting that some casually dressed clients have bought cars worth over N200m from his dealership.

He also rejected the idea that the vehicle was unattended with the suspect, insisting that a proper test drive should have at least two people with a prospective buyer. When asked why the pickup did not have a tracking device, he explained that it was a new vehicle that had not been sold yet.

According to him, putting a tracker on a vehicle before sale could interfere with its wiring system. This might make buyers wonder if it was a used Nigerian vehicle. He added that the pickup has a fuel tank capacity of about 130 litres, but its gauge showed red, meaning about 30 litres was left when the suspect took it.

When contacted for a response, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police, SP Abimbola Adebisi, denied that the police wrongfully released the suspect. Adebisi said the suspect had been identified as a psychiatric patient by recognized government hospitals and courts. She said the dealer withdrew the case after this information came out during the investigation.

"The suspect is a psychiatric case, certified by recognized 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.

But PUNCH Metro could not verify the police spokesperson’s claims, as she did not provide the documents requested by the correspondent to prove the medical certification and the withdrawal of the complaint.