Police freed suspect, left me with N40m losses – Car supplier offers replace on thief who drove off with automotive from his dealership and was caught by residents

The automotive supplier whoseautomotive was stolen earlier this week by a thief who then went on a rampage as he tried to flee has revealed that the thief has been launched.

Chima Edmund, the automotive supplier, has accused the Lagos State Police Command of releasing the person suspected of making an attempt to steal a 2025 Toyota Tundra pickup price about N130m from his showroom within the Victoria Garden City space of Lekki, Lagos State.

Edmund, founding father of Mayor and Sheiks Autos, mentioned the suspect allegedly drove the car away from his showroom on Monday, October 12, after posing as a potential purchaser however crashed it right into a canal within the Ajiran space whereas making an attempt to flee.

A video of the incident went viral on Tuesday,  October 13, as locals beat the thief and pulled him out of the canal earlier than handing him over to police.

Edmund estimates the price of repairing the broken car at about N40m.

Speaking solely withPUNCH, Edmund mentioned the suspect arrived on the dealership round 4pm carrying a bag and requested to examine the pickup.

He mentioned a junior workers member attended to the person, who requested the important thing to the unsold car underneath the pretext of checking 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 mentioned.

He mentioned the car’s doorways locked robotically when the suspect engaged the gear, after which he drove in direction of the VGC Bridge.

Edmund mentioned his workers member pursued the car however struggled to persuade passers-by that the person behind the wheel was not the proprietor.

He alleged that the suspect drove by way of a residential property in Ajah, broken a barricade on the entrance and continued in direction of Chevron and Ebeano earlier than 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 said the thief damaged the pickup and a barricade at the VGC entrance while fleeing with the car.

Edmund added that he paid for repairs of the barricade and incurred expenses on the treatment of the people injured by the thief, as well as the thief’s feeding and other related costs.

The dealer said he also paid for the thief’s medical treatment following the crash, adding that the man was not kept in a cell because of the injuries he sustained.

According to Edmund, the case was initially reported at the Ajah Police Division before being transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, where two women who identified themselves as the suspect’s mother and sister visited him.

He said the women claimed to be from Agbor, Delta State, adding that he became concerned about recovering his expenses after learning that the suspect had been released on bail.

Edmund alleged that he was pressured to withdraw the case after investigators established 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 mentioned.

The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Abimbola Adebisi, denied the allegation that the police had improperly released the suspect, the publication reports.

Adebisi told Punch the suspect had been certified as a psychiatric patient by recognised government hospitals and competent courts, adding that the dealer withdrew the case after the information emerged during the investigation.

“The suspect is a psychiatric case, certified by recognised 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 mentioned in a WhatsApp message to a Punch correspondent.

However, the police spokesperson didn’t present the paperwork requested by the correspondent to substantiate the alleged medical certification and withdrawal of the criticism, per the publication.