Outrage as police frees man who attempted to steal ₦130m Toyota Tundra and crashed it into Lagos canal

• A Lagos car dealer says a man allegedly drove a ₦130m Toyota Tundra from his showroom and crashed it into a canal.

• The dealer says the damaged pickup could cost about ₦40m to repair and has questioned the suspect's release.

• Police say the suspect was released to his mother for rehabilitation after the dealer withdrew his complaint, following a psychiatric assessment.

A Lagos car dealer, Chima Edmund, has accused the Lagos State Police Command of releasing a man who allegedly drove a ₦130m Toyota Tundra from his showroom in Victoria Garden City (VGC), Lekki, and crashed it into a canal.

The police deny any wrongdoing. They say the man is a psychiatric patient and that Edmund withdrew the complaint before he was freed.

Edmund, founder of Mayor and Sheikhs Autos, said the damaged 2025 pickup could cost about ₦40m to repair. Asking, "How am I going to bear these losses alone?" he said the man's release has left him with no way to recover his money.

The incident happened on Monday, October 12, and went viral the next day. Edmund said the man arrived at his showroom around 4pm with a bag and presented himself as a customer. He asked for the pickup and its key, saying he wanted to check the engine.

According to Edmund, the man then started the engine and drove off, with the doors locking automatically as he engaged the gear. He allegedly drove through a residential estate in Ajah, damaged a barricade, and continued towards Chevron and Ebeano before reaching Ajiran.

There, Edmund said, the man ran out of road and drove into a canal, where local youths pulled him out. The dealer said he paid to repair the barricade and for the treatment of people hurt in the incident, including the suspect, whose feeding costs he also covered.

The case was first reported at the Ajah Police Division and later moved to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, Yaba. Edmund said he later learned the man had been released on bail. He alleged he was pressured to withdraw the case after investigators found the man had a psychiatric condition, adding, "I am already suspecting foul play in the police dealings."

Police spokesperson SP Abimbola Adebisi said the release followed no wrongdoing. She said the suspect had been certified as a psychiatric patient by recognised government hospitals and competent courts, and that Edmund knew this during the investigation. According to her, that led him to submit a withdrawal letter, after which the suspect was handed to his mother for rehabilitation.

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Edmund, who said he has been in the car business since 1996, called the incident unprecedented. He rejected suggestions that the vehicle had been left unattended, saying a proper test drive should involve at least two people.

He also said the pickup had no tracker because it was new and unsold. He appealed for help to recover his losses, to which the public has reacted with various criticisms against the manner with which the case was handled.