Nollywood actress and philanthropist, Sarah Martins, has shared an emotional account of her alleged harassment by officials of the Kick Against Indiscipline task force, after she was reportedly stopped from cooking food for the people of Lagos on a street in Lekki.
The Lagos State Government, through its Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Mr Jubril Gawat, later confirmed the operation, describing it as part of efforts to keep Lagos clean and maintain order.
In a video circulating on social media platforms on Thursday, Martins was seen visibly distraught and in tears, clutching her hand, which appeared swollen and covered in a liquid substance believed to be hot oil.
Passersby in the video expressed sympathy as they tried to comfort her, advising her to “pour salt on it” to ease the pain.
Others in the crowd could be heard shouting in protest, alleging that officials had seized her cooking equipment and that the oil spill occurred during the scuffle.
One eyewitness could be heard yelling, “Lagos State KAI for Lekki Ikate bus stop, they came and poured her hot oil when she was cooking! She is doing this for free. She is using her money and sharing it for free. She is doing this for free!”
“They came here, packed everything, and poured her hot oil,” another bystander shouted.
The crowd, visibly upset, said Martins had been cooking out of goodwill, in hopes of sharing the free meals with the less privileged around the Lekki-Ikate bus stop when the incident occurred.
In a follow-up video, Martins, visibly emotional, identified herself as the founder of the Golden Heart Foundation.
According to her previous social media posts, the foundation is a government-registered non-profit organisation that provides free meals to the homeless and empowers street youths through financial aid and skills acquisition.
The foundation, she explained, regularly conducts cooking outreaches across Lagos to support vulnerable individuals and promote community welfare.
“I cook on the streets of Lagos. Today, I came here, and these officials hijacked what I was using to cook for the people. Along the line, hot oil spilled on my hand — see, my hands are swollen. I don’t even know where they’re taking me to,” she said.
She also shared footage showing vehicles marked with the logos of Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps and KAI, which she alleged were the agencies involved.
Gawat, confirmed the incident in a post on X, emphasising that the enforcement was part of the state’s ongoing sanitation drive.
In the video shared by him, officials were seen seizing the actress’s cooking equipment, with one officer audibly saying, “You can’t cook here.”
Martins, visibly upset, responded, “It is charity.” The clip, however, did not clearly capture how the alleged scuffle occurred or whether hot oil was indeed poured on her hand.
In another part of the video, Martins was seen dipping her hand into water while urging someone in the queue to “go live,” as she began filming her own version of the incident, claiming that officials had injured her during the altercation.
Sharing video from the operation, Gawat wrote, “KEEP LAGOS CLEAN. This lady claims she is ‘cooking for charity’ and she is using the median around Admiralty, Lekki Phase 1 as her ‘kitchen’. The KAI officials have arrested her with all her equipment and cleaned up the whole axis.”
See the video here
The video has since sparked widespread outrage and mixed reactions online. While some Nigerians condemned what they described as excessive and inhumane treatment by the officials, others insisted that the task force was only enforcing the law.
Many argued that the officials could have handled the situation more calmly and respectfully, while others pointed out that cooking on public roads violates safety and environmental regulations.
One X user, #naija4lifen, wrote, “Impunity, the audacity to ask people to record and go live while serving food on a major road median. Lawlessness has entered our blood.”
On Instagram, user #regina_anthony_ wrote, “They’re against her feeding the less privileged because they’re the ones intentionally starving them. What a lawless country.”
Another user, #okechukwu_ahumaraeze, said, “Even if they don’t want her to cook on the road, they should have calmly asked her to move, not rough-handle her. These people have zero conscience!”
Others defended the enforcement officers, arguing that public order must be maintained. “They’re actually doing their job, which is to keep the streets clean and safe. Next time, madam, go rent a place for whatever you want to do, not in a public space,” wrote #hmbventuress on X.
Another user, #spirals_hair, added, “I saw this coming. That location she cooks at is somehow. Take care of your hand.”
Several commenters also raised broader questions about enforcement practices in Lagos. “When charity meets bureaucracy, the streets of Lagos ignite a debate on compassion versus order. No one should be harassed, though,” wrote #DavidLeoAlabi, while #77Terabyte said, “There’s enforcing the law, and then there’s plain harassment. These task force officials need to learn the difference.”
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