Lagos Car Dealer Accuses Police of Freeing Suspect Who Drove Off With N130m Pickup

(The recovered vehicle. Photo Credit: Edmund)

Chima Edmund, founder of Mayor and Sheiks Autos, says a man posing as a buyer drove off with a 2025 Toyota Tundra worth about N130 million from his showroom in Victoria Garden City, Lekki, on Monday, October 12.

Edmund told an online news outlet that the man came in around 4pm, asked to test the vehicle and started the engine while staff watched.

He then drove through parts of Ajah and crashed the pickup into a canal in Ajiran.

Edmund said he has paid for the vehicle's repairs, which he estimates at N40 million, as well as damage to a barricade, medical treatment for injured people and the suspect's own treatment.

He claims he was pushed to withdraw the case after police found the suspect had a psychiatric condition, and that the man was released on bail the previous evening.

He says he now suspects foul play.

Lagos Police spokesperson SP Abimbola Adebisi denied any improper release.

She said the suspect has a psychiatric condition certified by recognised government hospitals and competent courts.

She said Edmund knew this during the investigation and then submitted a letter withdrawing the complaint, after which the suspect was handed over to his mother for rehabilitation.