The Lagos Express Authorities has warned Nollywood actress Sarah Martins to desist from cooking and distributing meals on public roads in the yelp, cautioning that she dangers arrest and prosecution if she continues the exercise.
The warning changed into once issued on Saturday (this day) by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Sources, Tokunbo Wahab, in a public exclaim addressed in an instant to the actress.
Wahab acknowledged the charitable intent in the help of the actress’s outreach to prone residents nonetheless pressured out that cooking or trading on public infrastructure akin to roads, walkways and medians violates the yelp’s environmental and public show regulations.
Within the exclaim, the commissioner said the authorities recognised the philanthropic motive in the help of Martins’ actions nonetheless insisted that such activities would per chance perchance not be utilized in public spaces.
“Whereas we acknowledge and fancy the spirit of charity and compassion in the help of what you are making an try to create, accomplishing such activities on public roads, walkways or medians will not be authorized below Lagos environmental and public show regulations,” Wahab said.
He outlined that the practice would per chance perchance manufacture security hazards and environmental concerns.
“Cooking or trading on public infrastructure poses security, sanitation and traffic concerns. You had been previously cautioned about this identical project final yr resulting from the notion of its philanthropic arrangement and pleas,” he added.
The commissioner well-known that the actress had previously been cautioned over a an identical incident nonetheless had resumed the exercise.
He resulting from this reality instructed Martins to discontinuance the practice and as a replacement channel her humanitarian efforts through authorized platforms and locations.
“You had been previously cautioned about this identical project final yr resulting from the notion of its philanthropic arrangement and pleas. I would per chance perchance perchance strongly expose that you simply desist from accomplishing boulevard cooking or an identical activities in public spaces in Lagos in show to steer sure of apprehension and prosecution,” Wahab said.
He added, “Must you like to proceed your charitable outreach, it would per chance perchance be done through precise sort channels and in authorized locations so that your efforts can toughen prone of us without violating present authorized pointers and constituting environmental nuisance.”
Wahab additional emphasised that the yelp anticipated residents and traffic to conform with its authorized pointers and regulations.
“We search recordsdata from all people to be legislation-abiding in Lagos, appropriate as they’d perchance perchance be in any diversified nicely-regulated city,” he said.
Naija Information reports that Martins, a Nollywood actress and comic identified for her solid social media presence and philanthropic activities, only in the near past attracted public attention after videos showed her cooking and distributing meals to residents on the streets of Lagos.
The warning from the authorities comes months after an incident in October 2025 when officers of the Kick Against Indiscipline assignment power apprehended the actress whereas she changed into once cooking on a boulevard median in the Lekki residence of Lagos.
Within the midst of the enforcement operation, officers seized her cooking equipment.
Videos of the stumble upon circulated broadly on social media, showing the actress showing distressed whereas clutching a hand she said had been burned by spilt sizzling oil all over the altercation.
The footage prompted mixed reactions online, with some Nigerians criticising the habits of the officers, whereas others supported the enforcement of the yelp’s environmental regulations.
The controversy additionally drew attention from Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, after Martins equipped on Instagram that she had got ₦20 million from his office to toughen her charity foundation.
Nonetheless, Seyi Tinubu later clarified that he did not in my thought manufacture the donation.
In accordance to him, the funds had been raised by some traffic who had been moved by Martins’ humanitarian work and valuable to toughen her in securing a precise sort situation for her outreach activities.
He nonetheless pressured out that he did not toughen any act that violated Lagos Express authorized pointers.
Naija Information reports that the yelp authorities had earlier defended the enforcement action in opposition to the actress, insisting that her activities on public infrastructure had been unauthorised and contravened environmental and sanitation regulations.





